Televangelist Archbishop Fulton Sheen beatified in St Louis — one step closer to sainthood

Tens of thousands of people filled the arena, and many more watched online. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a media star in the Philippines and a Vatican evangelization official, presided over the formal, lengthy ceremony. Vendors at the venue sold T-shirts bearing Sheen's face alongside the usual popcorn and soft drinks.

Beatification puts Sheen one step from sainthood, the title Catholics reserve for a small number of the faithful. He now carries the title "blessed," a status the Vatican grants before full canonization.

For Catholics who grew up watching Sheen's broadcasts, the ceremony marks a milestone decades in the making, turning a preacher known for reaching audiences through television into a figure the church now formally venerates. The size of the crowd, and the choice to hold the event in a former NFL stadium, shows how far his reach extended beyond the pulpit.

A cardinal known as a media star in his own right presiding over the beatification of America's first televangelist, in a football arena selling his face on T-shirts, is the kind of detail that says as much about Sheen's legacy as the ceremony itself.