Pope Francis claims US televangelist performed miracle

[left-of-center2012]

Pope Francis has declared that a late US television preacher once performed a miracle, moving him one step closer to sainthood.

The Vatican announced on Saturday the formal approval of the miracle, thought to relate to claims about a baby’s extraordinary recovery in an Illinois hospital.

The Diocese of Peoria believes that Archbishop Fulton J Sheen – who died in 1979 – interceded in 2010 on behalf of a baby who began breathing 61 minutes after showing no signs of life at birth.

One miracle allows a candidate for sainthood to be beatified in the Catholic faith, but a second miracle must be approved in order for sainthood to be conferred.

No date has been given for his beatification ceremony, but the Peoria Diocese said it was beginning preparations for the celebration in the central Illinois city.

Archbishop Sheen’s on-air evangelism made him a well-known figure in the US over several decades, having started on NBC radio in 1930 with a weekly programme called The Catholic Hour.

He expanded to television in 1950 with NBC’s Life is Worth Living, regularly amassing more than 30 million viewers.



https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-francis-claims-us-televangelist-174013170.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. FYI: Actor Martin Sheen changed his name to the Archbishop's.

[sandensea]

3. I don't blame him - plus he is part Irish

I remember his recounting, during an interview a few years back, that when, at first, he introduced himself as 'Ramón Estévez', ladies would clutch their purses and he himself would sometimes be asked to leave the building on the spot.

[sandensea]

2. Reminds me of a line from the 1980s Tom Conti comedy 'Saving Grace'

The archbishop explains to the new pope (Conti) that "in order to increase donations, a system of incentives is being tested:"

"Small contributors get a calendar with your picture on it; medium contributors are invited to come meet you, Your Holiness..."

At which point a bemused pope interjects: "And what do big contributors get? A sainthood?"