Religion
Solanus Casey
1870–1957 · Capuchin friar and priest, beatified
Capuchin friar revered as a healer and counselor at Detroit's St. Bonaventure Monastery, co-founder of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, beatified at Ford Field in 2017.
- Born
Oak Grove, Wisconsin- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 86- Birth name
- Bernard Francis Casey
- Also known as
- Blessed Solanus Casey · Father Solanus
- Detroit years
- 1897–1904, 1924–1945, 1956–1957
- Field
- Religion
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Bernard Casey, a Wisconsin farm boy who had worked as a lumberjack and streetcar operator, felt called, in prayer, to go to Detroit. There he entered the Capuchin order at St. Bonaventure Monastery in 1897, taking the name Solanus. Because he struggled with his studies he was ordained in 1904 as a simplex priest, barred from hearing confessions or preaching formal sermons. After years in New York he was sent back to St. Bonaventure in 1924 as porter, the friar who answers the door. That humble post made him famous: thousands of Detroiters, rich and poor, lined up to ask his advice and prayers, and many reported healings. In 1929, as the Depression began, he helped found the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which still feeds the city's hungry. He spent 1946–1956 in Indiana, returned to Detroit ill and died at St. John Hospital in 1957. On November 18, 2017, about 70,000 people attended his beatification at Ford Field, and his tomb draws pilgrims to the Solanus Casey Center.
Highlights
- Entered the Capuchins at Detroit's St. Bonaventure Monastery in 1897
- Porter at St. Bonaventure, where thousands sought his counsel, 1924–1945
- Co-founded the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in 1929
- Beatified at Ford Field before about 70,000 people on November 18, 2017
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Buried here · 1897–1904, 1924–1945, 1956–1957
St. Bonaventure Monastery and Solanus Casey Center
The Capuchin monastery where he entered the order and served as porter; his tomb lies beneath the north transept of the church, beside the Solanus Casey Center museum and chapel.
Founded · 1929–
Capuchin Soup Kitchen
Soup kitchen on Mount Elliott Street he helped start in 1929; it still serves meals and runs social programs.
Related place · 2017
Ford Field
The Detroit Lions' stadium, where his beatification Mass was celebrated on November 18, 2017.