PEORIA, Ill. -- The Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes has approved a petition from the Diocese of Peoria to open the canonization cause of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

The diocesan chancery received a letter Sept. 23 granting approval from Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the congregation. It came just two weeks after Peoria Bishop Daniel R. Jenky announced the diocese's promotion of the sainthood cause.

The letter was dated Sept. 14, the same week the diocese's petition was presented in Rome by Msgr. Richard Soseman, diocesan judicial vicar and vice postulator of Archbishop Sheen's sainthood cause.

The quick response is a "good indication" that the Vatican is favorable to the cause, Msgr. Soseman told The Catholic Post, Peoria's diocesan newspaper.

Archbishop Sheen, who gained fame in the 1950s as the host of the popular television program "Life Is Worth Living," died in 1979 in New York. While a canonization cause usually begins in the diocese where a person dies, Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York has given permission for the cause to be formally opened in the Peoria Diocese, where the archbishop was born and ordained a priest.

The Vatican's approval means the Peoria Diocese can go ahead with the first phase of the investigation necessary for a person to be canonized, Msgr. Soseman said.

The diocesan investigation, which must follow norms of procedure laid out by the Congregation for Saints' Causes, will include a detailed study of the archbishop's life and a review of his published works by priests who hold licentiates in theology.

The diocese also must make the sainthood cause public, so all who favor or oppose the archbishop's canonization can express their views, Msgr. Soseman said. The bishops of the region also will be consulted, he added.

The end result of the investigation -- which will likely take several years -- will be compiled into a volume of several hundred pages and presented to Rome, he said.

A commission of cardinals will review the documents as well as any additional information relevant to the cause.

The Vatican investigation also will include verification of two miracles attributed to Archbishop Sheen's intercession. Generally, one miracle is required for beatification and a second for canonization.

As vice postulator or promoter of the canonization cause, Msgr. Soseman expects to oversee most of the diocesan investigation. His canon law degree was one factor in his appointment as vice postulator, he said, noting that the detailed procedures specified by the Congregation for Saints' Causes resemble a legal process.

During his trip to Rome, Msgr. Soseman met initially with a priest who serves as secretary to Cardinal Saraiva Martins. Msgr. Soseman presented the secretary with the diocese's petition and a pictorial biography of Archbishop Sheen, and the priest then suggested he meet personally with the cardinal.

"He was very gracious and seemed very open" to the cause, Msgr. Soseman said. Although Cardinal Saraiva Martins is Portuguese and his secretary is Italian, both were familiar with the El Paso, Ill., native.

"(The secretary) said, 'Of course, Archbishop Sheen needs no introduction,'" Msgr. Soseman said. "I think both of them knew who he was or at least his reputation."

While best known for his television show, Archbishop Sheen was a prolific writer and speaker who was bishop of Rochester, N.Y., and national director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

"He had a deep and substantial outlook but one that was always very practical," Msgr. Soseman said, adding that the archbishop had an ability to make profound teachings of the church understandable to everyday people.

The archbishop's canonization cause has been spearheaded by the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, which continues to collect copies of letters, films, videos, photos, recollections of personal experiences and any other relevant materials.