Five Australian priests were among an estimated 50,000 Catholics who witnessed the beatification of Archbishop Fulton J Sheen in St Louis, Missouri. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Sydney priests Fr Noel Custodio, Fr Roberto Keryakos and Fr Gerard Woo Ling attended the September 24 Mass at The Dome at America’s Centre, along with Parramatta priest Fr Jack Green of the Diocese of Parramatta and Fr Jason Rushton SJM, an Australian who is serving in Kazakhstan.
They are believed to have been, if not the only, among the few Australian priests present for the historic occasion.
For Fr Keryakos, assistant priest at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, the pilgrimage honoured a priest whose teaching helped transform his own relationship with Christ in the Eucharist.
“My introduction to Fulton Sheen was when I was in the seminary, at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Homebush, Sydney,” he told EWTN.
The seminarians made a daily Holy Hour, a practice of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament promoted by Blessed Sheen. Fr Keryakos said its significance only really became clear after he began reading the archbishop’s writings.
During his fourth year, he began practising a Holy Hour during his holidays.
“I thought, ‘I want to be close to the Lord and I want to spend that time with him like I do in seminary,’” he said.
“I can’t say I’m as consistent as Fulton Sheen … but certainly it is the great priority for me in the day, to keep that Holy Hour.”
Fr Keryakos said Blessed Sheen retained a following in Australia because his intelligence, warmth and storytelling made profound truths accessible.
“He’s very charismatic. He tells great stories. He’s highly intelligent but breaks things down very simply for people like me to understand,” he said.
The then-Msgr Fulton Sheen visited Australia in 1948, adding another Australian connection to the American archbishop’s story.
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Sydney priests witness Fulton Sheen beatification (By Marilyn Rodrigues, The Catholic Weekly)
