24 Facts About Solanus Casey

Solanus Casey was known as a healer and for his abilities as a spiritual counselor, but especially for his great attention to the sick, for whom he celebrated special Masses.

Solanus Casey was a noted lover of the violin, a trait he shared with his eponym, Francis Solanus.

Bernard Francis Casey was born on November 25,1870, on a farm in the town of Oak Grove, Pierce County, Wisconsin, the sixth of sixteen children born to Irish immigrants Bernard James Casey and Ellen Elizabeth Murphy.

Solanus Casey contracted diphtheria in 1878, permanently damaging his voice, leaving it wispy and slightly impaired; two of his siblings died from the disease that year.

Solanus Casey then acted on a call to the priesthood.

Solanus Casey returned home before deciding to make his application.

Solanus Casey then applied to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin in that city.

Solanus Casey was received into it on January 14,1897.

Solanus Casey was given the religious name of "Solanus" after Saint Francis Solanus; both men shared a love of the violin.

Solanus Casey struggled through his studies but received ordination to the priesthood on July 24,1904, from Archbishop Sebastian Messmer at Saint Francis of Assisi Church in Milwaukee.

Solanus Casey served for two decades in a succession of friaries in New York.

Solanus Casey was later transferred to New York City, where he first served at Saint John's Church next to Penn Station and later at Our Lady Queen of Angels in Harlem.

Solanus Casey was recognized as a healer and gifted spiritual counselor.

Solanus Casey loved to kneel before the Eucharist in the quiet of the night.

Solanus Casey is considered one of the founders of the soup kitchen, which is still in operation today.

Solanus Casey had a poor singing voice, attributed to having suffered from diphtheria as a child.

Solanus Casey died from erysipelas at 11:00 am on July 31,1957, at Saint John Hospital in Detroit, with only his nurse at his side.

Solanus Casey's remains were clothed in a new habit before reinterment in a steel casket at the north transept.

Solanus Casey's remains were exhumed to collect first- and second-class relics on August 1,2017.

On July 11,1995, Pope John Paul II, in a private audience with congregation prefect Alberto Bovone, confirmed that Solanus Casey had lived a life of heroic virtue and titled him Venerable.

Solanus Casey now has the title "Blessed" and is one step closer to sainthood.

Solanus Casey's confirmed miracle involved curing Paula Medina Zarate's ichthyosis, a genetic skin condition.

The postulator for Solanus Casey's cause was his fellow Capuchin friar Carlo Calloni.

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