FLUSHING, Mich. — Byzantine Catholics from the Eparchy of Parma’s Michigan parishes were among the 60,000 faithful to attend the beatification Mass for Capuchin Father Solanus Casey at Detroit’s Ford Field Nov. 18.
Blessed Solanus is only the second male born in the United States to be beatified. The first, Father Stanley Rother of Oklahoma, who was martyred in Guatemala, was beatified Sept. 23.
The stadium erupted in applause after Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, read an apostolic letter from Pope Francis in Latin that declared Father Casey, “Blessed Solanus Casey.”
Blessed Solanus was born in 1870, in Oak Grove, Wisconsin, and died in Detroit in 1957; he was 86. His last words, “I give my soul to Jesus Christ,” captured the simple trust that was the hallmark of his life in service to the poor and poor in spirit. He was born into a pious Catholic family of Irish immigrants. He grew up on a farm and worked as a lumberjack, jailer and trolley conductor, before discerning a vocation to the priesthood.
He struggled with studies in seminary. Consequently, he was ordained a simplex priest, which did not allow him to preach homilies or hear confessions. Because of his status, Blessed Solanus was assigned simple jobs: moderating the Ladies Altar Society, training altar boys, and being a monastery doorkeeper.
It was as a doorkeeper, and then as a founder of the Capuchins’ soup kitchen in Detroit during the Great Depression, that Blessed Solanus showed his quiet mettle and the graces he had received. When factories closed and thousands of men and women were without work and unable to feed their families, Father Casey pulled up the sleeves of his brown Franciscan habit and got to work in the soup kitchen, providing hot meals and solace to the thousands who came to the monastery’s doors. His prayers and fasting were credited for having sustained the 1,500 people who came to the soup kitchen daily during the Depression.
Decades later, stories abound about the humble friar who filled bellies and strengthened souls with good food and good counsel. Wherever he went, people found in Blessed Solanus a readiness to listen. They also found that when he prayed, their prayer intentions were answered with amazing frequency. In time, healings were reported and people alienated from the church were reconciled to the faith.
On the date of his beatification, the packed stadium made clear that memories of Father Casey had never dimmed over the years in Detroit.
Marianne Wasilco Nagrant was among several parishioners of Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic Parish in Livonia, Michigan, to attend the Nov. 18 beatification. She said her husband, Nick, knew a man who attributed his birth to the intercessory prayer of Blessed Solanus.
“Nick worked with a man whose parents had gone to Father Solanus for advice and a plea because they were childless. He indicated to them that their prayer would be answered,” Nagrant recounted.
“Blessed Solanus did a lot to help the poor and granted many requests, even when he was alive,” she added.
Members of other Eastern Christian churches, including Chaldean Catholics, Maronites, and Greek Orthodox, also attended the Mass, along with representatives from Judaism and Islam.
Among them were Vikki and Patrick Haley of Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Parish in Flint Township, Michigan. The Haleys learned about Blessed Solanus while visiting with Alice and Martin Barillas, parishioners of St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Parish in Flushing, who have an icon of Blessed Solanus in their home.
When the Barillas learned of Pat’s devotion to Blessed Solanus, they processed with the icon to the Haleys’ home nearby as a blessing for Pat, who is battling cancer.
“Ever since Pat was diagnosed it seems like Blessed Solanus has made his presence known,” said Viki. “I am not sure what it means, but I feel he is active in Pat’s life now.”
Scott J. Richert traveled to Detroit from Huntington, Indiana, for the beatification. The senior content network manager for Our Sunday Visitor underlined that Blessed Solanus spent the last decade of his life in Huntington.
“While Father Solanus’ reputation as a healer led to his beatification, his perfect trust in God and his love for Christ and His Blessed Mother continues to inspire Catholics in both Detroit and in Huntington to carry on his legacy of love for his fellow man,” he wrote in an email.
The remains of Blessed Solanus are buried at St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit. His cause for canonization continues. The postulator for his cause for canonization is Capuchin friar Carlo Calloni.
Caption:
(L. to r.): Marianne Wasilco Nagrant and Nick Nagrant of Sacred Heart Parish in Livonia, Michigan, and Luke Iyengar of Holy Ghost Parish in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, attend the beatification of Blessed Solanus Casey at Ford Field in Detroit. Photo (courtesy of Marianne Wasilco Nagrant)