23/10/2026
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WHEN OUR LADY KICKED BLESSED FULTON SHEEN OFF THE TRAIN
𝘏𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩.
What would you do if you asked Our Lady to send you suffering so that another soul might be saved—and she answered your prayer in a way you never expected?
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the famous American Catholic preacher, once recounted an extraordinary experience connected with his devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes.
It began with a prayer that he later described as a dangerous one.
A PRAYER THAT CHANGED HIS JOURNEY
During a visit to Lourdes, France, Sheen was preparing to leave for Paris by train. Before departing, he hurried to the Grotto of Our Lady and asked the Blessed Virgin to send him a trial or suffering that could help save a soul.
He was not asking for comfort or an easy journey. He was offering to endure hardship for someone who needed to return to God.
After praying, he rushed back to his hotel to collect his belongings and catch his train.
But someone was following him.
THE YOUNG WOMAN WHO FOLLOWED HIM
According to Sheen's account in his autobiography, Treasure in Clay, he eventually turned around and confronted a young Dutch woman who had been following him.
She explained that she had seen him during a religious procession earlier that day and felt compelled to speak with him, although she could not explain why.
When Sheen asked whether she was Catholic, she replied that she was an atheist.
The bishop came to believe that this encounter was the answer to the prayer he had just offered at the Grotto.
He told her, in effect, that he had asked Our Lady for suffering to help save a soul—and that she might be the reason his prayer had been answered.
Instead of leaving as planned, he decided to remain in Lourdes and speak with her about faith.
HE MISSED HIS TRAIN TO HELP SAVE A SOUL
Sheen stayed for several days, accompanying the young woman as she reconsidered her relationship with God. In his account, she eventually returned to the Catholic faith and received the sacraments.
For Sheen, the inconvenience of missing his train was a small price to pay for what he believed was the recovery of a soul.
But his difficulties did not end there.
Trying to get back to Paris, every train ticket he bought was turned down. It took him an entire week as tickets he had just purchased were inexplicably no good and he’d be let off at the next station without food or water. "That was the price I had to pay for her soul," he explained.
“So, the Blessed Mother … pays hotel bills. She converts atheists."
He followed up by telling his audience the legend of how Jesus approached Peter at the Gates of Heaven, questioning him about certain souls gaining entry to Heaven seemingly very easily. What was going on with the keeper of the keys?
Peter assured the Lord it wasn’t his fault; “every time I close a door your mother opens a window.”
