Fulton Sheen’s beatification highlights historic St. Norbert College connection

The Catholic Church’s beatification of Fulton J. Sheen on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, brings renewed attention to a little-known chapter in the history of St. Norbert College. 

More than 75 years ago, St. Norbert College honored Sheen at its 50th-anniversary Commencement, awarding him one of the institution’s first honorary doctorates in 1949. Also in attendance was Bishop Stanislaus Bona of the Diocese of Green Bay, and prominent Norbertines including the Rev. Sylvester Killeen, O. Praem. (co-adjutor Abbot), and Abbot Bernard Pennings, O. Praem., founder of St. Norbert College.

The event took place on the College campus between Boyle and Main Halls, with Sheen serving as the commencement speaker for the Golden Jubilee; 77 years later, Sheen has been declared blessed by the Catholic Church. 

The historic connection takes on added significance because of the remarkable concentration of Catholic history and pilgrimage sites in northeastern Wisconsin.

On the St. Norbert College campus stands the National Shrine of St. Joseph, located at historic Old St. Joseph Church. The shrine predates the College and was entrusted to the Norbertine Fathers when they established a priory in De Pere and founded St. Norbert College in 1898.

Approximately 22 miles away is the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, site of the 1859 Marian apparitions reported by Servant of God Adele Brise. The apparitions received formal approval from the Diocese of Green Bay in 2010, making Champion the only Church-approved Marian apparition site in the United States.

Each spring, the two shrines are connected by the Walk to Mary, an increasingly popular pilgrimage beginning at the National Shrine of St. Joseph on the St. Norbert campus and ending at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion.

“Fulton Sheen’s beatification gives us an extraordinary opportunity to reflect on the remarkable Catholic heritage of northeast Wisconsin,” said St. Norbert College President Laurie Joyner. “The College recognized Sheen more than 75 years ago, and today our students continue to encounter a living Catholic heritage through the National Shrine of St. Joseph on our campus, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion a short distance away, and the cause for canonization for Servant of God Adele Brise officially opened this year.”

Sheen was one of the most recognizable Catholic voices in 20th-century America, reaching millions through his preaching, writing, radio, and television ministry. He was declared venerable in 2012, and the Holy See recognized a miracle attributed to his intercession in 2019 that led to his beatification.

The Sheen connection to SNC provides a distinctive perspective on the beatification: a moment in the universal Church that has a tangible local tie to St. Norbert College — a Catholic, liberal arts institution that continues to shape students intellectually, spiritually, and personally in the Norbertine tradition of communio, with one mind and one heart on the way to God.