Bishop Robert Barron preaches at vespers on eve of Archbishop Sheen's beatification

Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester preached a homily during vespers on Sept. 23 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis to prepare for the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis presided over the evening prayer, which was attended by between 1,000 and 1,500 people, including cardinals, bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful. Organizers chose St. Louis as the site for the beatification to accommodate the large crowds, though the cause for Sheen's canonization was originally introduced by his home Diocese of Peoria.

During his nearly 19-minute reflection, Bishop Barron described Sheen as a pivotal figure in modern Church history who used electronic media to evangelize the world. Barron identified Sheen's friendship with Jesus Christ as the root of his holiness and noted that the archbishop served as a model and inspiration for his own evangelization work.