Opinion

Our son’s miracle is a testament to prayer and Fulton Sheen’s intercession

The Catholic Church declared the baby's survival a miracle attributed to Sheen, now to be declared 'Blessed'

By Bonnie L. Engstrom Fox News

Published September 24, 2026 6:00am EDT

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Sixteen years ago, in the middle of the night, in the heart of Illinois, a miracle happened.

It didn’t begin as a miracle, of course. The chain of events that would end with a miracle of biblical proportions started with me, laboring at home in the arms of my husband. Unbeknownst to us, our healthy baby boy had a knot in his umbilical cord. That knot tightened during his delivery, cutting off his oxygen supply. When the midwife caught him and placed him in my arms, he was stillborn. For the brief moments I held him, he didn’t cry. He didn’t breathe. He had no pulse.

Our son, James Fulton, was taken from my arms and placed on the floor. My midwife and her assistant began CPR. My husband performed an emergency baptism, invoking the saints James was named after. Sitting on the floor, I felt like I was falling out of control.

COLTON BURPO DESCRIBES MEETING JESUS AND HEARING ANGELS SING DURING NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE

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In my head, I repeated the name of my baby’s namesake, the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen —........

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