Blessed Fulton J. Sheen
This past Thursday, September 24th Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was proclaimed a “Blessed” in the Roman Catholic Church. This is the last step before being officially canonized as a Saint. One of the main requirements in the process is to have a miracle attributed to one’s intercession. The following is the story of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen’s miracle on behalf of James Engstrom:
For 61 minutes after his birth, baby James Fulton Engstrom’s heart didn’t beat. Delivered at home on Sept. 16, 2010, Bonnie and Travis Engstrom’s son entered the world with a knot in his umbilical cord and no pulse. He was rushed to the hospital, where medical professionals worked on his tiny body for roughly 20 minutes, then ceased resuscitation efforts. “It was like ‘all hands off’ so that they could call time of death,” Bonnie Engstrom recalled. “And it was at that moment, when everyone stopped working, that instead of calling time of death, his heart started to beat.”
The Engstroms had already chosen Fulton as their son’s middle name in honor of the 20th-century author, media evangelist and archbishop, Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. During her pregnancy and after James was born, Bonnie prayed for Sheen’s intercession. Looking back now, the family can’t forget the weight of that moment — their newborn was lifeless for 61 minutes, one minute longer than Sheen’s beloved daily Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.
By any measure, James shouldn’t have survived, much less grown up without lasting brain damage. When a follow-up MRI at 3 months old indicated a healthy brain, Bonnie picked up the phone at the urging of her mother, Alberta Fandel, and called the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation in Peoria, Illinois, to report what had happened to their son.
Within a year, the Diocese of Peoria had convened a tribunal to investigate the possible miracle, gathering medical records and testimony from everyone involved. Nearly a decade later, in 2019, Pope Francis formally approved James’ healing as a miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession, clearing the way for his beatification. The long-awaited beatification Mass took place Sept. 24 at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, where tens of thousands gathered to celebrate the man the Engstroms now describe as a “close family friend” in heaven. Now James is a 16-year old high school sophomore, navigating a typical teen life much like his peers – school, friends, yard work and odd jobs all of which keeps him thankful and busy.