Beatification of Solanus Casey
On May 4, Pope Francis announced that Father Solanus Casey will be elevated to Blessed in the Roman Catholic Church, which is the final step before sainthood.
Father Solanus entered the Capuchin Franciscan Order in 1897 and was ordained a priest in 1904. He spent 20 years in Detroit; it was there that he achieved his reputation for charity and holiness. Because of his holiness, Pope John Paul II declared him Venerable in 1995.
Pope Francis announced that Father Solanus will be beatified at a Mass at 4 p.m. Nov. 18 at Ford Field, Detroit.
The Capuchin friars are a 16th-century reform of the religious Order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Capuchins serve in the Pittsburgh Diocese in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh and in Rochester, Freedom, Herman and Cabot. The Capuchins of the Pittsburgh Diocese will celebrate the beatification of Solanus Casey with a Mass at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 14 at Saint Augustine Church, Our Lady of the Angels Parish, 225 37th St., Pittsburgh.