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29 November 2017 Special Issue Issue Number 1117 Blessed Solanus Casey On Saturday, 18 November 2017, our brother Solanus Casey was beatified during a liturgical celebration at Ford Field in Detroit. Over 60,000 individuals were present for the Mass, including over 500 concelebrants. The friars of the St. Joseph Province did not concelebrate, however, continuing our tradition of expressing the equality of all of our brothers regardless of canonical status. On behalf of the St. Joseph Province, we want to thank the brothers for their presence and support, both from our province and all the provinces all over the world. Gratitude is especially due to those who worked tirelessly on the preparation of the liturgy: the music and the ambiance. Solanus Casey was known for his steadfast devotion to the needy, and has an extraordinary following, decades after his death in 1957. Pope Francis acknowledged Solanus’ rank of “blessed” after Paula Medina Zarate of Panamá was cured while praying at his tomb in 2012. Zarate had a formal role at the liturgy, placing a cross in front of a portrait of Solanus near the alter. Cardinal Angelo Amato read a decree by the pope, who described the friar as a “humble and faithful disciple of Christ, tireless in serving the poor.” Solanus can be canonized in the years ahead if a second miracle is attributed to him. He's only the second U.S. born man to be beatified by the church, joining Stanley Rother, a priest killed in Guatemala's civil war, who was beatified in Oklahoma in September. One U.S. born woman has been beatified and two others have been declared saints. Solanus, born in Prescott, Wisconsin, joined the Capuchin Franciscans in Detroit in 1897 and was ordained a priest seven years later. But there were conditions: because of academic struggles, he was prohibited from giving Michael Sullivan, Pro Minister homilies at Mass and couldn't hear confessions. "He accepted it," said Martin Pable. "He believed whatever God wants, that's what he would do." Solanus served for 20 years in New York City and nearby Yonkers before being transferred back to St. Bonaventure Monastery in Detroit in 1924. He ministered as a doorkeeper for the next two decades, but his reputation for holiness far exceeded his modest title. "He had a gentle presence. He left people with a wonderful feeling of peace inside their hearts," Pable said. "He would say, 'Let's just pray about this and see what God wants to do.’ Some people were not healed. He told them to bear their problems with God's help.” In 1929, Solanus co-founded the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which serves up to 2,000 meals a day in Detroit. All souls in Heaven are saints. Formerly, the church declared “saints” as people who were outstanding in holiness, either because they died as witnesses for the faith (martyrs) or they lived a life of heroic virtue. For the first half of the church’s history, saints were canonized in various ways. Today, the process of canonization is complex and thorough. The official process of canonization, called a “cause,” does not begin until five years after the death of the candidate. This period of time permits the church to verify whether the candidate enjoys a true and widespread reputation of holiness. When the cause is officially begun, the candidate receives the title “Servant of God.” The next step toward canonization begins when the evidence is studied by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. If the evidence reveals true holiness, the congregation informs the pope that the Servant of God was either a true martyr or has lived a life of extraordinary and heroic virtue. When the Servant of God has been declared to have lived a life of heroic virtue, it must be proven that a miracle has been granted by God through the intercession of the Servant of God. For those beatified to be canonized one miracle is required. When proven, the pope proceeds to the canonization process. By this act, the church declares that he or she is a saint. It also means that the saint is worthy of public veneration by the universal church, and held up as a model for imitation and a powerful intercessor for all. (The above text was culled from an article by the Associated Press and from the souvenir booklet published for the beatification liturgy.) Page 2 of 8 Page 3 of 8 Friars dined at the Soup Kitchen the evening before the event! Page 4 of 8 The Capuchin Soup Kitchen...evolved! When the Great Depression began in 1929, Solanus Casey helped start the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Today, that ministry serves between 1,600 and 2,000 meals per day. While most individuals initially come to the Soup Kitchen seeking food to feed their bodies, the ministry also stimulates minds, nourishes spirits, and attempts to address the root causes of social injustice through a variety of innovative programs. The Conner Kitchen opened in 1998 as a response to Michigan’s welfare-to-work initiative. As many as one-third of the meals served here are for children 12 and under. The evening meal provides a nourishing meal to children after school and adults after work. The Meldrum Location on Mt. Elliott St. serves the chronically poor. Guests are typically male, homeless or poorly housed, often diagnosed with mental illness and/or substance abuse addiction. This facility provides showers and clothing for about 30 people each day to give those in need a fresh focus and an increased sense of dignity and self-worth. The Capuchin Services Center distributes emergency food and clothing, and has recently re-engineered its food pantry to resemble a small grocery store, complete with reach-in freezers and coolers, vegetable and fruit islands, and bread and pastry racks. Guests are granted a designated amount of food based on family size. All guests are interviewed by an emergency assistance worker. Families are eligible for food assistance once a month. Earthworks Urban Farm is a 2.5 acre certified organic farm located in the City of Detroit. The program seeks to build a just, beautiful food system through education, inspiration, and community development. As a working study in both social justice and in knowing the origins of the food we eat, Earthworks strives to restore our connection to the environment and community. On The Rise Bakery Café is a program of the Soup Kitchen’s ROPE (Reaching Our Potential Everyday) ministry. The bakers have recently been released from prison and have completed a substance abuse treatment program. Each purchase of baked goods helps make possible the provision of supportive housing, training, counseling services, educational opportunities, and self-help programs. Jefferson House is an accredited residential treatment facility for impoverished males seeking to reclaim their lives from addictions. Residents normally complete their rehab in six to nine months. During that time they learn to practice honesty, courage and other virtues essential to recovery and to the development of a sober, healthy and happy life. The program also provides opportunities to work at other Capuchin Soup Kitchen locations, for which the men are paid a modest stipend. The Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program seeks to stretch the minds of young people, stimulate their creativity, and explore with them alternatives to violence, through tutoring and art therapy sessions, a lending library, seasonal family activities and a counseling program focusing on youth leadership development. A three week summer peace camp for all children features art, drama, music, dance, peacemaking classes and field trips. Page 5 of 8 Friars dined at the monastery after the event Following the beatification liturgy at Ford Field, friars were invited to a dinner reception at St. Bonaventure Monastery, hosted by local minister Larry LaCross. This was another way in which the friars offer hospitality to those visiting Detroit. It was a time of fraternity with friars from many different provinces with many different cultures. And from looking at the photos, it was a very fraternal experience! We are grateful for photos submitted to Weekly re:Cap by MJ Groark, Phil Gardner and David Hirt. There were so many photos forwarded to us that we could not reprint them all. Thanks to everyone who submitted photos. Solanus Casey stood quietly apart from the haste and indifference of modern society tending to thousands in trouble, pain and sorrow. Together they witnessed his monastery door become their gate of heaven. At the close of his earthly journey, just minutes before passing through that gate, he sat up in bed and exclaimed, “I give my soul to Jesus Christ.” On the day of beatification, the church affirms that he certainly did, and that Jesus received him. How fitting, how simple, that the doorkeeper should enter through Christ, the Door. How necessary that we receive the grace to follow him. Page 6 of 8 In 2015, global leaders signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals, with the aim to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) by 2030. The UHC framework now lies at the center of all health programs. To complement the global World AIDS Day 2017 campaign which promotes the theme "Right to health," the World Health Organization will highlight the need for all 36.7 million people living with HIV and those who are vulnerable and affected by the epidemic, to reach the goal of universal health coverage. Under the slogan "Everybody counts," WHO will advocate for access to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines, including diagnostics and other health commodities as well as health care services for all people in need, while also ensuring that they are protected against financial risks.

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