Sheen was born in El Paso and lived in the Peoria, Ill.-area before receiving ordination as a priest and moving East for additional education and a clerical career. But apparently he also loved trains.
The Pantagraph newspaper reports that the caboose came from a local, private, collection and that the caboose is meant to evoke Sheen’s fondness for railroads.
The only heritage given for the caboose is that it dates from 1953. It appears to be painted white and has a standard cupola. The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Spiritual Center plans to use the caboose as a multi-purpose room.
Sheen was born in 1895 and died in 1979. After becoming a priest, he was later ordained a bishop in New York City, and served as bishop of Rochester, N.Y. He won an Emmy Award in 1953 for Most Outstanding Personality. Officials in Illinois and New York have been promoting Sheen to be declared a saint.
