Terror threat strikes Missouri archdiocese ahead of pre-sainthood Mass for Fulton Sheen

Tens of thousands of Catholics are set to attend the Mass of beatification — the last step before sainthood — for the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen in St. Louis on Thursday.

Roughly a week ahead of the celebration, over which Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle will preside, the Archdiocese of St. Louis was issued a terrorist threat.

'We pray for an end to the hatred.'

According to St. Louis County prosecutor Melissa Price Smith's office, 32-year-old Jeremiah Robinson of St. Genevieve allegedly stated in a TikTok video on Sept. 15 that he was two minutes away from the archdiocese's offices and that "God had instructed him to use no discernment and that 'everyone who walks into that church is guilty and to kill them.'"

Robinson allegedly posted a second video to social media once in the parking lot of the archdiocese offices in St. Louis and turned the camera to show the buildings, evidencing that he was indeed close.

Robinson claimed in the second video that he was instructed "to leave no one breathing," Smith's office alleged.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

The FBI National Operation Center brought the videos to the attention of the Shrewsbury, Missouri, Police Department, and the archdiocese offices were promptly evacuated.

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After a sweep of the building involving bomb dogs, police determined that the site was safe.

Robinson was slapped on Sept. 16 with a first-degree felony charge of making a terrorist threat and booked into the St. Louis County Justice Center on a $100,000 cash-only bond.

Brecht Mulvihill, the archdiocese's executive director of communications, said in a statement obtained by EWTN News, "First, we wish to extend our gratitude to the law enforcement officers who responded immediately to this incident, especially to the Shrewsbury Police Department."

"The safety and well-being of the men and women who serve the Church are of the utmost importance, and we pray for an end to the hatred and threats of violence that have become so regrettably prevalent on social media," added Mulvihill.

Catholic churches across the country have been repeatedly targeted for arson, vandalism, and violent attacks in recent years.

For instance, a trans-identifying gunman shot up a Catholic church full of children in Minneapolis on Aug. 27, 2025, injuring 17 and killing two children, ages 8 and 10.

In May, a 40-year-old man claiming to be the "chosen one" allegedly shot up Genevieve’s Catholic Church in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Fortunately, no one was injured in the drive-by shooting.