SEATTLE – Some 300 members of Capuchin Father Solanus Casey’s extended family will be among 60,000 people expected in Detroit Nov. 18 to witness the simple priest’s beatification, the next step on the journey to sainthood.
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis advanced the sainthood causes of Wisconsin-born Capuchin Father Solanus Casey, five religious, four laypeople and two cardinals, including Vietnamese Cardinal Francois Nguyen Van Thuan.
SEATTLE - Bernard and Ellen Casey passed along something priceless to their 16 children: their Catholic faith. The couple’s legacy includes three sons who became priests, including one — Father Solanus Casey — who has been declared venerable.
On a hot July morning in 1987, Holy Names Sister Anne Herkenrath stood by the grave of her great-uncle Father Solanus Casey, who had been buried 30 years previously. The cause for his canonization had recently begun, and Sister Anne was one of two family members invited to witness the exhumation of his body at the Capuchin Monastery in Detroit, Mich.