Vatican Christmas

FILE - Pope Francis waves before delivering the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for 'to the city and to the world' ) Christmas' day blessing from the main balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Monday Dec. 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

 Gregorio Borgia

PEORIA, Ill. (WAND) — Pope Francis, who died Easter Monday at the age of 88, once confirmed a miracle right here in central Illinois. 

On Sept. 16, 2010, James Fulton Sheen was born lifeless. His parents, Travis and Bonnie, prayed to Archbishop Fulton Sheen as they watched a midwife perform CPR on their infant. Bonnie said she had prayed for months asking for Archbishop Sheen's intercession and protection over her baby.

fulton sheen

Fulton Sheen was once a priest in Peoria and the nation's first televangelist.

The baby was rushed to OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, but doctors said he could not be revived. After 61 minutes, however, his heart started to beat.

The Catholic Diocese of Peoria announced Pope Francis formally approved the event as a miracle in 2019 and attributed to the intercession of Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

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