Blessed Solanus Casey
Photo from Detroit, Michigan, 2026.
Sacred Heart, Yonkers, New York
For his first priestly assignment, Solanus was appointed in 1904 as sacristan and director of the altar boys. In 1906 he was assigned as porter. This expanded his interaction with parishioners. He often visited their homes, especially of the sick. During this time, he officiated at 295 baptisms and 5 weddings.In Yonkers, Solanus began sitting and listening to people’s troubles. He offered encouragement, advice and prayers. Word spread that his prayers sometimes cured illnesses, solved problems, reconciled families and were even prophetic. Some waited hours to see him. Those who saw him left with a desire to grow in faith and serve others, continually promoting both spiritual and corporal works of mercy. His words to so many still resonate today: ‘Religion is the happy relationship with and provident dependence on God and neighbor.”
Our Lady of Sorrows, Lower East Side, New York City
This new assignment in 1918 was a change for Solanus. He was again appointed director of the altar boys and also director of the Ladies Sodality. Even though he was not officially allowed to preach, he continued a practice he had begun in Yonkers of giving devotional talks or “ferverinos.” Looking back, it may seem surprising that he was not appointed porter at Our Lady of Sorrows and only officiated at a handful of baptisms and one wedding. Having much more time to himself, it appears that these years were important for his internal growth. His biographers consider this a significant time of spiritual development.
Our Lady Queen of Angels, Harlem, New York City
Solanus resumed the role of porter in 1921. This reestablished a direct, close relationship with parishioners. As in Yonkers, people arrived in increasing numbers to seek his counsel and prayerHe continued to encourage enrollment in the Seraphic Mass Association: something he had begun in Yonkers. Solanus was so effective that he was named an official “promoter” of the SMA by his superiors in Rome. Solanus never ascribed any healing to his own interventions. Rather healings were due to the power of the Holy Mass. Starting in February 1922. Solanus ministered to inmates in a nearby prison, harkening back to his days as a prison guard in Stillwater, Minnesota. This appears to be his first extensive experience with nonwhites, especially African Americans. This set the stage for his welcoming approach to people of diverse races and religions, so apparent in his forthcoming ministry in Detroit. In 1923 the Capuchin Provincial took notice of the growing number of people visiting Solanus and the increasing number of reported favors. He asked Solanus to keep a record of these events. Over the coming decades, Solanus would fill over a dozen notebooks documenting thousands of visits and favors received.
Saint Bonaventure Monastery, Detroit
His ministry in Detroit was his longest and most public from 1924 to 1945. As in other places, the pattern of his simple hospitality changed the dynamic at the door. Previously quiet, the front office grew crowded with people hoping to meet this holy friar. There were so many requests to see Solanus that they had to rearrange the front office to accommodate the flood of people.A celebrated ministry that evolved during his stay in Detroit was the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. People had always come to the monastery for food, but those numbers dramatically increased during the depression. Father Herman Buss, founding director of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, enlisted members of the Third Order to meet this need. Father Solanus was deeply invested in the Soup Kitchen. He often tapped benefactors for support, including transporting food, money to buy supplies, and donations of bread. He sometimes also helped to serve a meal. His impact on Detroit during this period would be hard to overestimate. The city would become the focus of the drive for his canonization, and the place where the first miracle recognized by the Vatican in 2017 occurred.
Prayer for canonization of Blessed Solanus Casey
O God, I adore you. I give myself to you. May I be the person You want me to be, and may Your will be done in my life today.I thank You for the gifts You gave to Father Solanus. If it is Your will, bless us with the canonization of Father Solanus so that others may imitate and carry on his love for all the poor and suffering of our world.As he joyfully accepted your divine plans, I ask You, according to Your will, to hear my prayer for… (your intention) through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“Blessed be God in all His designs.”