A look at Blessed Fulton Sheen’s relics
At Blessed Fulton Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis, miracle recipient James Fulton Engstrom presented a first-class relic: Sheen’s jawbone. Church officials said the jawbone was chosen to reflect Sheen’s gift for preaching and communicating the faith. After a respectful canonical recognition of Sheen’s remains, the Diocese of Peoria obtained bone fragments for first-class relics. The Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Rochester will each receive a significant relic, made from bones in Sheen’s hands.
4 days ago
Blessed Fulton Sheen’s beatification on Sept. 24, 2026, featured a first-class relic of his jawbone, while the Diocese of Peoria is preparing additional bone relics for public veneration in dioceses connected to his ministry and for presentation to Pope Leo XIV. 1
James Fulton Engstrom, whose survival after being born without signs of life was recognized by the Church as a miracle attributed to Sheen’s intercession, presented the jawbone relic to Cardinal Luis Tagle during the beatification Mass in St. Louis. Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria said the mandible was chosen in part because Sheen was known for communicating and preaching the faith. 1
Sheen died in 1979. During the canonical recognition of his remains, conducted according to Church norms, the Diocese of Peoria found that the soft tissue had decomposed and obtained bone fragments for first-class relics. 1
Peoria received permission from Rome to prepare larger relics for the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Rochester, where Sheen served as an auxiliary bishop and diocesan bishop, respectively. Each diocese is to receive a bone from one of Sheen’s hands; the selection reflects his familiar image of writing “JMJ” and gesturing toward heaven. 1
Tylka said he planned to present the relics personally: to Rochester on the Tuesday after the article’s publication and to New York on the following Thursday. Both dioceses planned celebrations to mark their receipt of the relics. 1
The Peoria foundation is also preparing small first-class relics—bone fragments placed in reliquaries—for Catholic institutions seeking them for public veneration. Requests must include a letter from a diocesan bishop, and the foundation says the relics are not intended for private collections. 1
Second-class relics, such as fragments of Sheen’s vestments, may be requested by individuals. Third-class relics include objects touched to a first-class relic; visitors to Sheen’s tomb in Peoria can touch rosaries or holy cards to it. 1
Tylka also confirmed plans to present another major relic to Pope Leo XIV at an audience scheduled for Oct. 5. 1
Relics express Catholic theology of bodily resurrection and sanctity
Yes. Relics express Catholic faith that the human body matters to God: it is not a disposable shell, but part of the person whom God calls to holiness and will raise to new life. The Church venerates saints’ bodily remains because their bodies were members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, and because the saints are destined to be raised and glorified.
This does not mean that the exact same particles of matter must reassemble at the resurrection. Catholic teaching affirms continuity of the person and bodily identity, while recognizing that the resurrected body will be transformed and glorified. The International Theological Commission says the Church has not taught that precisely the same matter is required for the body to be the same.
Relics also witness to sanctity: God’s grace sanctifies the whole person, not merely the soul. The Church’s reverence for a saint’s remains honors the body that shared in the saint’s life of faith and is bound for resurrection. The honor is not divine worship offered to bones or objects; it is veneration directed through them to God and to the saint whose holiness they recall.
Finally, relics point to the communion of saints. They remind the faithful that death does not sever the Church’s unity in Christ, and that God may work through relics to strengthen faith or grant blessings. The relic itself is not an independent source of power; any grace or miracle comes from God.