By Mark Rhoads -
As a student of Illinois history, I am sometimes surprised that many IR readers miss interesting stories from the past that impact on our present.
For example, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen became famous on TV in the 1950s as an auxiliary bishop in New York. But he was actually a native of Illinois. He was born on May 8, 1895 in El Paso, Illinois and was ordained a priest of the Diocese at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria in 1919.
One fun fact is that in high school Sheen played basketball against radio star Jim Jordan who played the role of Fibber McGee on network radio.
Bishop Sheen died in 1979 at age 84 and his remains are currently buried at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. But a crypt has been prepared for him in the Peoria Cathedral and a court decision in June cleared the way for his remains to come back to Illinois at the request of his oldest living relative. This move might be very timely since the investigation of the Catholic Church into his possible qualifications for sainthood is now in its final stages. I hope that Peoria will soon be able to welcome home a good and kind saint.
