ST. LOUIS — For generations of Filipino Catholics, Blessed Fulton Sheen was more than a voice on the radio or a familiar face on television. He was a companion in faith whose message traveled from American airwaves to Filipino homes.
More than 50,000 people filled the Dome at America’s Center on Sept. 24 for Archbishop Sheen’s historic beatification, including Filipino immigrants who said they had known the American churchman since childhood.
For 87-year-old Lilia, Sheen’s beatification brought her back to childhood in the Philippines, when his voice came through the family radio leading the rosary.
“He is my model,” she said. “When I was still in the Philippines, I was studying in grade school way back in the 1950s. Fulton Sheen was already on the radio leading the rosary.”
She continued following his sermons after arriving in the United States, where his teachings remained an important part of her Catholic faith.
“He’s so good,” Lilia said.
For Connie Scoggin, Sheen was also part of her childhood faith. Her grandparents watched his television programs and listened to his radio broadcasts while she was growing up in the Philippines.
“I was just a little kid, I didn’t know what was going on, but I saw the picture and everything,” said Scoggin. “I think that’s what brought me here too. I’ve known him since I was a child.”
The legacy also reached Filipinos serving in the U.S. military, including Fr. Sherwin Monteron, an Army chaplain recruiter based in Texas.
Before taking his current assignment, Monteron spent two years in the Middle East, where he saw Sheen’s example continue to inspire Catholic soldiers.
“A lot of my soldiers, especially Catholics, were really inspired by the life of Archbishop Fulton Sheen,” Monteron said.
For Filipino immigrants gathered in St. Louis, the beatification offered a rare moment when a figure from their childhood faith became part of a historic celebration in the country where Sheen lived and ministered.
