A conference celebrating the life and legacy of the soon-to-be Blessed Archbishop Fulton Sheen will take place in St Louis, Missouri, on the eve of his beatification, the Fulton Sheen Movement announced in a press release earlier this month.

America's Saint: The Catholic Hour Is Now will be held on September 23, 2026, bringing together participants to consider what it means to “think like Sheen, pray like Sheen, suffer like Sheen and lead like Sheen”, the organisers said.

“This conference will rally the voices of American Catholics who championed Sheen when his cause was buried, those who suffered for his same convictions, and those committed to rebuilding America and the Church the way Sheen did, particularly during this patriotic semiquincentennial moment in the United States,” said Dr Peter Howard, founder and president of the Fulton Sheen Institute and the Fulton Sheen Movement.

Sheen's beatification was initially scheduled for December 2019 before being abruptly cancelled just days before it was due to take place. In February 2026, the Vatican announced the new date and location.

“Long before his cause was reopened, Sheen prophesied that America needs a saint — an American saint,” Howard said.

“More than a saint who lived in America, Fulton Sheen was a saint formed by America — an Illinois farm boy who became a bishop, pioneering evangelist and true Catholic American patriot, embodying the very saint he believed God was calling America to produce.”

The conference will feature talks by Msgr Roger Landry, Arthur Brooks, Jason Jones, Sr Dede Byrne and Fr Thomas Loya. Howard, who delivered a petition to the Vatican in September 2025 supporting Sheen's cause, will deliver the keynote address.

Sheen remains a relevant figure for today's world, Howard said.

“At a time marked by confusion, fragmentation, and a crisis of identity, Sheen's message cuts through the noise with conviction and clarity,” he said.

“This conference aims to rekindle the flame that burned so brightly in Archbishop Sheen: a bold love for Christ, intellectual courage and deep fidelity to the Gospel. We gather not merely to reflect on history, but to respond to the present moment.”

Sheen will be beatified on September 24, 2026, at The Dome at America's Center in St Louis, Missouri. Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will preside. It will be the fifth beatification to take place on US soil.