the cause for Canonization

The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation is the official promoter of the Cause for the Canonization of Archbishop Sheen.  It is the goal of the Foundation to introduce a new generation to the holy priest, missionary and communicator, Fulton J Sheen, and to move the Church to proclaim him a saint.

Mission Statement
The purpose of the Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation is to make known the life, works and thoughts of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, to bring people to Christ through Archbishop Sheen, and to advance the Cause for the Canonization of Archbishop Sheen in the Catholic Church, according to the process prescribed in the Code of Canon Law under the supervision of the bishop of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois.

History
The Archbishop Sheen Foundation was formed in 1998 by two men dedicated to the late Archbishop: Gregory J. Ladd of Highland, IN and Lawrence F. Hickey of New York, NY. It was the Foundation that initially approached the Archbishop of New York, the late John Cardinal O’Connor, for permission to pursue steps leading to the opening of the Cause for Canonization. Cardinal O’Connor gave his permission to begin gathering data about Archbishop Sheen that could be useful towards his possible canonization. Later, Edward Cardinal Egan, the successor to Cardinal O’Connor as Archbishop of New York, allowed the Foundation to approach the Bishop of Peoria regarding the possibility of opening Archbishop Sheen’s Cause.

The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation functions as the “promoter of the Cause” for the Canonization of the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. The first major task of the Foundation was the gathering of information about the life, virtues, and apostolic works of Archbishop Sheen. This was done primarily through contact with people who knew the Archbishop personally and so can testify as witnesses to his sanctity. The Foundation also had to oversee a critical theological review of all of the Archbishop’s writings.

Canon Law requires that for a bishop to petition that a cause be opened, he must have sufficient proof that the candidate for sainthood possesses a true and widespread reputation for two important qualities. The first is a “reputation for holiness.” This means that the People of God, especially those who knew that candidate for sainthood personally, genuinely esteemed him or her to have been a saintly person. The second is a “reputation for intercessory power.” This means that people who have prayed to God through the intercession of the candidate for sainthood have received real physical or spiritual favors as a result, such as a healing of illness, help through a personal or family crisis, a personal conversion or the conversion of a loved one, and the like. The Foundation was already able to offer some of this proof to Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C., to move him to open the Cause.