A couple come to Fr. Solanus
OPENING THE DOORS
TO THE NEEDY—OF BODY
AND SPIRIT
for spiritual support at St.
Bonaventure Monastery,
1943.
Fr . Solanus Casey, OFM Cap.,
co-founder of Detroit’s Capuchin Soup
Kitchen, to be beatified November 18.
One day in 1929, during the Great
Depression, the poverty-stricken resi-
dents of Detroit began lining up outside
St. Bonaventure Monastery—hungry and
desperate. Fr. Solanus Casey, a Francis-
can Capuchin priest at the monastery,
answered their call for help, telling the
other friars, “They are hungry. Get them
some soup and sandwiches.”
That day, the hungry and poor of De-
troit felt comfort for the first time in
months thanks to Father Solanus, a be-
loved figure in the city whose compassion
knew no bounds. (The Capuchin Soup
Kitchen at the monastery still serves thou-
sands of meals each month, and donates
food and toys throughout the region.)
Fr. Solanus Casey, who spent twenty-
two years at St. Bonaventure Monastery
in Detroit feeding the poor, praying for
healing for the sick, and bringing a sense
of peace and compassion to countless
others, has met the requirements for be-
atification and will be named “Blessed”
in a Mass at Ford Field in Detroit on
November 18. The announcement comes
sixty years after Father Solanus’ death.
He is the second U.S.-born man to re-
ceive this title—the first from Michigan.
Pope St. John Paul II declared Father So-
lanus to be “Venerable” in 1995. Now,
Pope Francis has determined the authen-
ticity of a miracle that occurred through
the intercession of Father Solanus. The
next step is sainthood.
A LEGACY OF HEALING
When Father Solanus arrived in De-
troit in 1924, he was already known as
a beloved porter, or doorkeeper, from
his twenty-year ministry at monasteries
in the New York City area. Throughout
his many years of ministry in New York
and Detroit, Father Solanus was greatly
sought after as a counselor, and for his
blessings of the sick. Many felt his bless-
ing brought about a cure for their illness.
“The beatification of Father Solanus will be a tremendous
blessing for the whole community of southeast Michigan.
He is an inspiration to all us Catholics—and to all—of the
power of grace to transform one’s life.”
– Most Rev. Allen H. Vigneron, Archbishop of Detroit
All who came to him were consoled by
his counsel and his serenity.
As doorkeeper, where he answered the
bell at the monastery door, Father Sola-
nus did not view the task as beneath him.
He accepted his humble position and
used his new role to help others.
Father Solanus died in Detroit in 1957.
During his life and after his death, Fa-
ther Solanus was known for his healing
touch and for the power of his interces-
sory prayers. Because of this, Fr. Gerald
Walker, Provincial Minister of the De-
troit Capuchins, initiated the first step
to sainthood for Solanus after his death:
he sent a report detailing Father Solanus’
life to the General Superiors in Rome.
In 1995, he was declared “Venerable”
by Pope St. John Paul II. In May of this
year, twenty-two years later, Pope Francis
issued a decree confirming a miracle as a
result of Venerable Solanus’ intercession,
announcing the plan for his beatification
in November. The miracle involved the
healing of a woman with an incurable
genetic skin disease who, after visiting Fa-
ther Casey’s tomb to pray for herself and
others, saw an instant, visible improve-
ment of her skin.
DID YOU KNOW?
• So far, there are only three
American-born saints: St.
Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Kateri
Tekakwitha, and St. Katharine
Drexel.
• F r. Solanus Casey is only the
second American-born male to
receive the title of “Blessed.” The
other is Blessed Stanley Rother, a
priest of the Diocese of Oklahoma
who was martyred in Guatemala
in 1968.
• Father Solanus’s consistently poor
academic performance worried
his Franciscan superiors, so they
ordained him as a “simplex priest”
in 1904, meaning he did not have
the ability to hear confessions or
preach doctrinal sermons.
• His body can be venerated in a
crypt accessible to the public at St.
Bonaventure Monastery.
(Reprinted with permission of FAITH Catholic)
shms.edu
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