(LifeSiteNews) — One week after Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen was declared Blessed in St. Louis, a first-class relic of the famed evangelist arrived for a permanent resting place at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan on Thursday.
Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria, Illinois — Sheen’s home diocese and the diocese leading his cause — presented the relic to Archbishop Ronald Hicks and the Archdiocese of New York.
The Good Newsroom, which filmed the day, reported that the relic reached the cathedral at 2 p.m., followed by midday prayer, public veneration, and a 5 p.m. Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hicks with Bishop Tylka preaching.
The newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn, The Tablet, described the occasion as a “homecoming” for the former New York auxiliary bishop.
Standing with Bishop Tylka, Archbishop Hicks told those gathered that the two share “a lot in common, not only on our journey, but this opportunity with Blessed Fulton Sheen” that “unites us even more in the ministry of faith and evangelization which was embraced by Fulton Sheen.”
He recalled Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s beatification homily the week before in which the cardinal called Sheen a son of Illinois, a son of the United States, and a son of the world.
“I agree with all of those,” Archbishop Hicks said. “I’d like to add today, as we’re gathered here in New York, he’s also a son of New York. He spent a lot of time here. He evangelized here. He called this home, and he was an auxiliary bishop here. So today this is a homecoming for us.”
He thanked Bishop Tylka “for giving us that first-class relic of Fulton Sheen,” adding that Sheen “will be venerated here at St. Patrick’s forever,” and calling the gift a “symbol of unity.”
A relic of Blessed Fulton Sheen arrived in New York City on Oct. 1. @AbpNewYork was on-hand to receive the bone at @stpatcathedral where crowds stayed after a midday prayer to venerate the relic. @TabletNewspaper pic.twitter.com/uAzTgTF52z
— Jessica Easthope (@JessEasthopeTV) October 1, 2026
Relic bone from Blessed Sheen’s right hand that ‘he used to write on the chalkboard, J.M.J.’
In his own remarks, Bishop Tylka recalled how the Archdiocese of New York “played a very significant role in the life and the ministry of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen. He lived in this local church. He served this local church. He loved this local church, just as he loved his native diocese of Peoria.”
The native of Chicago then addressed the relevance of the gift itself, explaining,
The purpose of my visit was to present the relic of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, a bone from his right hand, the hand that he used to write on the chalkboard, ‘J.M.J.,’ and so many other insightful, prophetic, and loving words about our faith. Relics are a reminder of the closeness that we share with the saints. They’re treasures to remind us of our communion, (and) of their prayers for us.
The Tablet reported that the relic was placed near the main altar for public veneration and that members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, which Sheen joined in 1951, accompanied it in procession and stood honor guard.
Samuel Romanzo, a Knight Commander with Star, called the duty “a tremendous honor.” “We’re all trying to be called to be saints,” he said. “To be able to be there in that presence is fantastic.”
After Mass, the relic was carried in procession to its permanent place at the Altar of the Holy Face. It is scheduled to travel with Archbishop Hicks on his visits to each deanery of the Archdiocese of New York through Thanksgiving, allowing Catholics across the archdiocese to easily venerate it.
As Patrick Grady of The Good Newsroom proposed, the man long known as “America’s bishop” is now enshrined, through this relic, “in America’s parish church for all to see.”
After Holy Mass this evening at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Archbishop Hicks presided and Bishop Louis Tylka of Peoria preached the homily, the Archbishop knelt in prayer before the relic of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, received from Bishop Tylka earlier in the day. pic.twitter.com/iVkUnuc1pO
— Archdiocese of New York (@NY_Arch) October 1, 2026
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