Blessed Solanus Casey was a priest who served in Detroit, Michigan. He was known for helping to heal the sick and burdened through the intercession of Jesus Christ.
As a member of the Franciscan Capuchin Friars, he did small, humble tasks in his monastery but would often spend his afternoons performing the Anointing of the Sick for ill parishioners. Fr. Solanus had great compassion for the sick, and through his compassion and personal holiness services, healed many people.
In her book Nothing Short of a Miracle: God’s Healing Power in Modern Saints, Patricia Treece shows that Fr. Solanus had a great gift for healing. Early in his ministry, Fr. Solanus’s superiors had him record every prayer request he received along with God’s answers to those prayers.
At a young age, Solanus had contracted diphtheria, which permanently damaged his voice. He also suffered from eczema, which became worse as he grew older and required treatment and hospitalization. However, he later spoke of how his time in the hospital helped him grow spiritually. He offered his sickness up for others’ healing.
Treece also notes that Fr. Solanus didn’t have an answer as to why God would allow suffering, but would say to those who came to him:
“God cares for you; only fear and distrust on your part can thwart his good designs.”
Fr. Solanus gave God credit for every healing he performed through the Anointing of the Sick. His love for suffering people reminds us of Jesus’ love for the lepers in the Gospels. When no one else would go near the lepers, Jesus went to them and healed them. Now, our good Jesus heals additional followers in the twentieth century through His servant, Fr. Solanus.
Fr. Solanus Casey died in 1957. His cause for beatification was opened in 1976.
To learn about God’s work in the world through 20th-century saints, check out Patricia Treece’s Nothing Short of a Miracle, sold here.
