ROCHESTER — Catholics in the Diocese of Rochester will soon have a physical link to Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.
A first-class relic of the famed cleric, who led the Rochester Diocese as its sixth bishop (1966-69), is being gifted to the diocese by Archbishop Sheen’s native Diocese of Peoria. The relic will be transferred during a Sept. 29 Mass at Rochester’s Sacred Heart Cathedral five days after Archbishop Sheen’s beatification in St. Louis, Mo.
The Sept. 29 Mass will be followed by a series of related liturgies at several diocesan parishes this fall. At these Masses, the faithful will have opportunities to view and venerate the relic — a small portion of Archbishop Sheen’s remains — before it is placed on permanent display at the cathedral for further viewing and veneration.
Diocese of Rochester churches will host Masses with Archbishop Sheen relic
Highlighting the Sept. 29 Mass will be an appearance by Bishop Louis Tylka, leader of the Peoria Diocese, who will formally present the relic to Bishop John S. Bonnici.
According to Father Aaron Kelly, priest-secretary to Bishop Bonnici, the event arose from a letter Bishop Tylka sent to Bishop Bonnici shortly after the latter was installed as bishop of Rochester in March 2026. In his letter, the Peoria bishop asked the new Rochester bishop if his diocese would like to have a relic of Archbishop Sheen, who is entombed at Peoria’s Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
The relic will be the focal point of the series of Masses taking place in each of the seven diocesan deaneries this fall, Father Kelly said. All liturgies will begin at 7 p.m. with Bishop Bonnici presiding. Dates and locations are:
• Sept. 29: Sacred Heart Cathedral (Monroe Central Deanery), 296 Flower City Park, Rochester
• Oct. 1: St. Stephen Church (Central Deanery), 48 Pulteney St., Geneva
• Oct. 7: St. John the Evangelist Church (Monroe West Deanery) 55 Martha St., Spencerport
• Oct. 13: St. Mary Church (West Deanery), 4 Avon Road, Geneseo
• Oct. 28: St. Joseph Church (Monroe East Deanery), 43 Gebhardt Road, Penfield
• Oct. 29: St. Mary Our Mother Church (South Deanery), 816 W. Broad St., Horseheads
• Nov. 4: Immaculate Conception Church (East Deanery), 113 N. Geneva St., Ithaca
Father Kelly noted that Bishop Bonnici also will take the relic with him as he visits colleges in the diocese, and that the relic will then be returned to the cathedral, where a permanent memorial to Archbishop Sheen is being planned.
“We are looking at options for how the relic will be displayed so that people can venerate it,” Father Kelly said.
Relic of Bishop Sheen in Rochester Diocese will serve as an object of devotion
These events were set into motion by a March 25 announcement from the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — a department of the Roman Curia — that Archbishop Sheen’s beatification would take place Sept. 24, 2026.
Beatification is the final step in the Catholic Church’s canonization process, by which the church declares a person to be a saint and worthy of universal veneration. Father Kelly noted that public veneration of a relic may only occur once a person has been beatified — gaining the title of “Blessed” — or canonized as a saint. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI declared Archbishop Sheen “Venerable,” which is the step prior to beatification.
“That’s (beatification and sainthood) really when we talk about relics,” Father Kelly said. “They can become places of pilgrimage, objects of devotion.”
Catholic Church has three classifications of relics
The church distinguishes among three classifications of relics: a part of a saint’s or blessed’s body (first class), something a saint or blessed owned (second class) and objects that have touched a first-class relic (third class). The three-inch relic of Archbishop Sheen is from a bone in his left hand, thus it is an authentic, first-class relic.
Public display of relics is in keeping with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1674: “The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church’s sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals, etc.”
Father Kelly noted that Bishop Tylka also is making a relic available to the Archdiocese of New York, where Archbishop Sheen served as auxiliary bishop from 1951-66 before coming to Rochester. The archdiocese also is where he recorded his famous radio and television shows, and served as national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
Tags: Venerable Fulton J. Sheen
