The case involving the transfer of the remains of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen from New York to Peoria, Ill., has been sent back to the original court by the NY Court of Appeals for an evidentiary hearing.

Archbishop Sheen, a Peoria diocesan priest, gained fame in the 1950s with a prime-time television series called “Life Is Worth Living.” He died in New York Dec. 9, 1979.

The transfer of the archbishop’s remains is seen as a key factor in the continuing progress of his sainthood cause, officially opened in 2002 by the Diocese of Peoria. The causes was suspended by the diocese in September 2014.

“We are confident that the new hearing and ruling will be completed in short time,” Msgr. James E. Kruse, vicar general of the Diocese of Peoria, said in statement. He predicted the court will rule in favor of Joan Sheen Cunningham, Archbishop Sheen’s niece and closest surviving relative, who is seeking to have the prelate’s remains removed from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York and transferred to St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria, where a crypt is being prepared.