Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who passed away in 1979, was best known for his role as the host on “Life is Worth Living,” an Emmy-winning television series broadcast during the 1950s. Now, years after his death, a dispute has erupted between rival dioceses claiming rights to Sheen’s remains. Five days prior to his death, Sheen executed a will directing his remains be buried at Calvary Cemetery, which is the cemetery of the Archdiocese of New York. Cardinal Terence Cooke asked and was granted permission by Sheen’s niece, Joan Sheen Cunningham, to instead place the remains in the crypt under St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. The matter of Sheen’s final resting place would have been settled had it not been for a recent push to have him declared a saint. Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, began investigating the issue of sainthood in 2002. He says that Cardinal Edward Egan granted him permission to sponsor the cause for Sheen’s sainthood and also promised to have the body moved to Peoria. The controversy as to where Sheen’s body should remain has become the impetus for a protracted legal battle. Cunningham, who is now 90, believes that if her uncle had known that he might be considered for sainthood, he would have been perfectly happy with the move to Illinois. For her, the best course of action would be to divide the body into relics, which has been a regular occurrence for saintly relics in the Catholic Church for centuries.
See Sharon Otterman, Archbishop Sheen’s Body to Stay in New York, for Now, The New York Times, February 7, 2018.
