After a years-long legal battle, the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen have been transferred from New York to Peoria.
In a statement, Bishop Daniel Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria said Sheen's niece, Joan Sheen Cunningham, and Diocese of Peoria attorney Patricia Gibson gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York to disinter the remains of Sheen. They were then flown to O'Hare, where they will be transported to Peoria.
The Diocese of Peoria said the beatification process for Sheen has resumed. Sheen was an El Paso native ordained as a priest in Peoria in 1919. He later moved to New York, where he became an early televangelist on radio, and later television.
Jenky said he is hopeful Sheen will be beatified this year.
The community is invited to visit Sheen's new tomb at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria. The cathedral will be open at these times:
- Friday, June 28 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- Saturday, June 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Sunday, June 30 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.