Solanus Casey

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Roman Catholic Church
BeatifiedNovember 18, 2017, Detroit, Michigan by Angelo Amato
Major shrineSt. Bonaventure Monastery, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
FeastJuly 30

Solanus Casey, OFM Cap (November 25, 1870 – July 31, 1957), born Bernard Francis Casey, was an American religious priest of the

Saint Francis Solanus
.

The cause for his sainthood, occasioned by the laity who so loved him, commenced a few years after his death; he was officially recognized as

beatified at Ford Field in Detroit on November 18, 2017.[2][3]

Life

Childhood and studies

Bernard Francis Casey (nicknamed "Barney") was born on November 25, 1870, on a farm in the town of

baptized on December 18, 1870.[4]

He contracted

street car operator in Superior. His time as a prison guard saw him befriend a couple of Jesse James' cohorts.[6] At first, he desired married life, but the mother of a girl to whom he had proposed suddenly sent her off to a boarding school
.

While working at his last job on the trolleys in Superior, Wisconsin, he witnessed a violent act that caused him to evaluate his life and future. Some reports say that he saw a drunken

diocesan priest.[8] Classes there were taught in either German or Latin, neither of which he knew. In due course, he was advised that he should consider joining a religious order
if he wanted to become a priest due to his academic limitations. He returned home before deciding to make his application.

While reflecting before a statue of the

Sebastian Messmer at Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Milwaukee. Because he had not performed well enough in his studies, he was ordained as a "simplex" priest.[9] (Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, a simplex priest could not preach at Mass or take confessions.)[10] He celebrated his first Mass on July 31, 1904, in Appleton, with his family present.[11]

Ministry

He served for two decades in a succession of friaries in

Penn Station and later at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Harlem.[12]

He was recognized as a healer and gifted spiritual counselor. In August 1924, he was transferred to the Saint Bonaventure convent in Detroit, where he worked until 1945. During this time, he mostly served as the simple porter (or receptionist and doorkeeper).[5] Each Wednesday afternoon, he conducted well-attended services for the sick, and through these services, he became known for his great compassion and simple holiness. People considered him instrumental in cures and other blessings.[13][8] He loved to kneel before the Eucharist in the quiet of the night.

During his time at St. Bonaventure's, Casey was involved in the formation of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.[14] The soup kitchen was founded in 1929 to provide food for Detroit's poor during the Great Depression. Casey is considered one of the founders of the soup kitchen, which is still in operation today.[15]

As a violinist, he loved playing Irish songs for his fellow friars during recreation time but was not a gifted instrumentalist. He had a poor singing voice, attributed to having suffered from diphtheria as a child. This disease took the lives of two of his sisters. Often Solanus could be found playing his violin in the chapel for the tabernacle.[5][6] He ate little. Until his late seventies, he joined the younger religious in games of tennis and volleyball.[7]

Declining health and death

The friar's tomb from 1987 to 2017; it now has a plexiglass dome.

In 1946, in failing health and suffering from

ulcers
began to heal.

On July 2, 1957, he was readmitted to the hospital for the final time due to skin deterioration. He was given oxygen therapy. Casey's sister, Martha, came to visit him after being notified of the seriousness of his condition; the two prayed the rosary together.

He died from

Jesus Christ."[16] An estimated 20,000 people filed past his coffin before his funeral and burial in the cemetery of his Detroit monastery.[17] On July 8, 1987, his remains were exhumed and reinterred inside the chapel at Saint Bonaventure Monastery, which eventually became part of the Solanus Casey Center; his remains showed no signs of the skin disease that afflicted him at the end of his life. His remains were clothed in a new habit before reinterment in a steel casket at the north transept. A range of miraculous cures has been attributed to his intercession during his earthly life and death.[13]
although Rome has officially recognized only one.

Relic scapular containing a piece of brown cloth touched to the tomb of Fr. Solanus Casey

Exhumation

His remains were exhumed to collect first- and second-class relics on August 1, 2017. They were then placed in a new black casket and reinterred with a plexiglass dome to make the new casket visible.[18]

Beatification

His beatification cause commenced in Detroit in 1976 with an investigation involving witness interrogatories and documentation compiling. The

Venerable.[19]

For a person to be beatified - unless they are a martyr - ordinarily, a miracle (normally, healing) must be approved following confirmation that science could not explain it. Numerous cases were investigated, including one considered by the congregation on April 3, 1998, which was later dismissed. The Archdiocese of Detroit investigated another purported miracle; its favorable report was completed and forwarded to Rome in 2015. This received congregation validation on October 12, 2015; approval by a panel of medical experts on September 22, 2016; and theological consulters' approval on January 19, 2017.[20] The congregation approved the miracle on May 2, 2017, and Pope Francis did so two days later, meaning that the late friar would be beatified. On November 18, 2017, the beatification occurred at Ford Field in Detroit in front of an estimated crowd of 70,000.[1] The Mass and beatification rite was led by Cardinal Angelo Amato, the prefect for the congregation. Casey now has the title "Blessed" and is one step closer to sainthood.[21]

Casey's confirmed miracle involved curing Paula Medina Zarate's ichthyosis, a genetic skin condition.[21] The miracle occurred at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit in 2012.[21]

The postulator for Casey's cause was his fellow Capuchin friar Carlo Calloni. The current vice-postulator is Edward Foley.[22]

Legacy

A new residence hall at Franciscan University of Steubenville is named Bl. Solanus Casey Hall.[23]

The Solanus Casey Center in Detroit, Michigan, is run by the Capuchin Friars of Detroit, and houses a museum adjacent to St. Bonaventure Monastery.

The Solanus Casey Center in Seattle, Washington, is a resource center for the homeless run by the St. James Cathedral.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Niraj Warikoo and Hasan Dudar (November 19, 2017). "Thousands attend beatification of Father Solanus Casey, now 1 step from sainthood". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  2. ^ "Event to celebrate step toward sainthood for Detroit priest". Detroit Free Press. July 15, 2017. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  3. ^ "Promulgation of Decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, 04.05.2017". press.vatican.va. May 4, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "Wisconsin native closer to sainthood". WLUK. May 4, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Blessed Bernard Francis Casey". CatholicSaints.info. November 21, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Kelly, Brian (June 19, 2009). "Venerable Solanus Casey, OFMCap". Catholicism.org. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c Risso, Paolo. "Venerable Solanus Casey" (in Italian). Santi e Beati. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c "Blessed Solanus Casey". Franciscan Media. Archived from the original on February 21, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  9. ^ Stechschulte, Mike (May 9, 2017). "Pope Francis announces Fr. Solanus Casey to be declared 'blessed'". The Michigan Catholic. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  10. ^ "A simplex priest is restricted in certain areas of ministry", St. Louis Review, December 6, 2017
  11. ^ "Call to Priesthood | Father Solanus Guild". solanuscasey.org. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0824518356
  13. ^ a b "Father Solanus Casey and His 'favors'". Catholic Education Resource Center. 2006. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  14. ^ Bicknell, Catherine (1979). Breaking Bread and Mending Spirits: Detroit's Capuchin Soup Kitchen 1929-1979. Detroit: Fidelity Press. pp. 15–16.
  15. ^ "Friendship and food served up at Father Solanus's soup kitchen". Crux. November 19, 2017. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  16. ^ "The Message | Father Solanus Guild". solanuscasey.org. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  17. ^ "Father Solanus Casey". www.loyolapress.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  18. ^ Mike Stechschulte (August 1, 2017). "Fr. Solanus' remains exhumed, relics collected ahead of beatification Mass". The Michigan Catholic. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  19. ^ "The Path of a Miracle for Canonization | Father Solanus Guild". solanuscasey.org. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  20. ^ "Francesco Solano Casey (1870–1957) (N. Prot. 1400)". Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. January 7, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  21. ^ a b c Patricia Montemurri (November 17, 2017). "Did Father Solanus Casey help cure a woman from Panamá?". USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  22. ^ Daniel Meloy (April 25, 2019). "Capuchin Fr. Ed Foley named vice postulator for Blessed Solanus' canonization cause". Detroit Catholic. Archdiocese of Detroit.
  23. ^ "Bl. Solanus Casey Hall". Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Further reading

  • Casey, Solanus; Casey, Bernadine (ed.). Letters from Solanus Casey OFM. Cap.: God Bless You and Yours. Detroit: Father Solanus Guild, 2000.
  • Derum, James Patrick. The Porter of Saint Bonaventure's: The Life of Father Solanus Casey, Capuchin. Detroit: Fidelity Press, 1968.
  • Odell, Catherine. Father Solanus: The Story of Father Solanus. Huntington, Ind.: Our Sunday Visitor Press, 1988.
  • Della Balda, Gabriele. Una carezza di Dio. Vita del beato Solanus Casey, cappuccino statunitense. Roma, Istituto Storico dei Cappuccini 2019 (ITALIAN)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Solanus Casey.
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