Peoria, Ill., Apr 21, 2009 / 04:04 am

The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation has announced that twelve archbishops and bishops have joined its Episcopal Board of Advisors for the cause for Archbishop Sheen’s beatification. The foundation told CNA on Monday that the famous archbishop's cause is progressing "quite well."

The new members include Cardinal William Baum, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C; Cardinal Edward Egan, Archbishop Emeritus of New York City; Cardinal Roger Mahony, Archbishop of Los Angeles; Cardinal Adam Maida, Archbishop Emeritus of Detroit; Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C.; Cardinal Seán O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston; and Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia.

Other new members include Bishop of Rockford, Illinois Thomas G. Doran; Bishop of Springfield, Illinois George J. Lucas; Bishop of St. Petersburg, Florida Robert N. Lynch; Bishop of Joliet, Illinois J. Peter Sartain; and Bishop of Paterson, New Jersey Arthur J. Serratelli.

The Archbishop Sheen Foundation also announced that its executive director, Fr. Stanley Deptula, received from the Holy See the title of Chaplain to His Holiness.

“Monsignor Deptula is a dedicated servant to the Church and is deserving of such an honor,” the foundation said.

Writing on his blog, Cardinal O’Malley said he was very honored to become an advisor.

“It was my privilege to have known Archbishop Sheen. When I was a child he would visit our parish regularly and I would often serve Mass for him,” he wrote. “[W]hen Archbishop Sheen was at the parish during the week, the church would be standing room only.”

Cardinal O’Malley said Archbishop Sheen was “a huge personality and a very important figure” in U.S. history.

“No one did as much to break down prejudice against the Catholic Church as Fulton Sheen,” the cardinal added. “I always say that John F. Kennedy could never have been elected president of the United States had it not been for the television program and radio programs of Archbishop Sheen.”

Saying Archbishop Sheen made “thousands of converts,” Cardinal O’Malley called him “a very holy priest” and said it would be “wonderful” to see him elevated to the altars.

Bill Engelbrecht, a member of the Archbishop Sheen Foundation’s board of directors, in a Monday phone interview told CNA the archbishop’s cause for beatification is “on track” and going “quite well.”

The Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation’s web site is located at
www.archbishopsheencause.org.