The Miracle of Fulton Sheen—Bonnie Engstrom

The Patrick Coffin Show podcast features weekly interviews with A-list influencers and outliers in the effort to recover the Judeo-Christian roots of the culture. Patrick is the Canadian-born former host of Catholic Answers Live, and he has raving fans around the world. He injects these fascinating interviews with his own distinctive blend of depth and levity. If you’re tired of politically correct media speak, you want to see God back in the public square, and you’re not allergic to having a laugh, this is the place to be.

Bonnie Engstrom Prayed for Fulton Sheen’s Intercession

Okay, this is a personal biggie. To get to talk to the mother of the baby boy, James Fulton Engstrom, who was stillborn on September 16, 2010, after a healthy pregnancy.

The baby stayed dead for 61 minutes. Let that sink in. James’s parents, Bonnie and Travis, began praying—hoping very much against hope—for the intercession of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who was born and raised near their hometown, to “do something!”

After 61 minutes, something totally unexpected and yet longed for happened. The baby’s heart quickened into a healthy rhythm, and a lovely pink flush replaced the ashen gray of his corpse. TOTALLY impossible, according to every medical expert who has examined the case, and yet it happened.

But they weren’t out of the woods. Sweet Baby James, by all evidence, would never recover from the catastrophic loss of oxygen. Doctors predicted the worst. The Engstroms leveraged social media and doubled down on the heavenly “ask.” People in many countries came to assist with prayers. And none of the medical disasters came to pass. James was, and is, normal.

This is an incredible story and is set to be the bona fide miracle that will make “Uncle Fultie” become Blessed Fulton J. Sheen, one step away from canonization. Ah, cool!