Byline: Michael R. Heinlein

Early in life, Blessed Solanus Casey was caught up in a clash of cultures, and it did not make life easy for him. But, in the end, God used those circumstances for his good and produced a saint.

Born Bernard Francis Casey to Irish immigrants in Wisconsin in 1870, Blessed Solanus first considered the priesthood after he witnessed a brutal murder while operating a street car as a young man. Wanting to make a difference in the world, he decided to try to do so through ordained ministry. Prior to entering the seminary, Blessed Solanus performed a variety of odd jobs and even came close to getting married. God, though, had other plans.

When Blessed Solanus entered the seminary in Milwaukee, his difficulty with studies in general was exacerbated by trouble mastering languages. Because of his poor grades in German, as well as other subjects, Blessed Solanus was dismissed from seminary.

Even though they had turned him away, those in charge of his seminary formation in Milwaukee believed that Blessed Solanus did indeed have a religious vocation. To fulfill this dream, they sent him to the Capuchin Franciscans, a community also very much conditioned by those of German heritage. Anxious about repeating history with the emphasis on German and, thanks to a dislike for their long beards, Blessed Solanus hesitated at first to give them serious consideration. Eventually, though, aft er receiving vocational counsel from a Capuchin friar, he decided to give entrance to the community a second thought. Turning over his heart’s anxiety to the Blessed Mother, he was divinely inspired. The Blessed Mother answered him when he heard “go to Detroit.” The Motor City was the home of that Capuchin province’s novitiate at the time, and a certain urgency compelled him to set out for the metropolis quickly.

Despite further doubts and fears, Blessed Solanus continued to turn to the Blessed Mother for assistance. As a result, he felt a sense of peace about his call. With the Franciscan habit, Blessed Solanus’ name officially changed from Bernard Francis to Solanus, after the 17th-century Franciscan missionary to South America, who, like Blessed Solanus, also loved to play the violin. Franciscan life fit like a glove for Blessed Solanus, but continued academic difficulties caused his superiors to decide he would remain a “simplex priest” after ordination, meaning he could hear no confessions nor preach a formal sermon.

Most of his priesthood, then, was spent as the monastery’s porter. Serving at monasteries in the greater New York City area as well as Detroit, this ministry put Blessed Solanus in touch with the real problems and situations of ordinary people. He easily forged relationships and was known for his wise counsel, humor and gentleness. Thus he was a most suitable counselor to the many who came seeking his guidance about their problems — availing himself to whomever needed him — in person, or by phone or letter. His reputation as a wonderworker grew thanks to his generous intercession and miraculous healings. When the Great Depression hit, Father Casey was instrumental in founding the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which to this day tends to the needs of Detroit’s poor.

Because of his renown and reputation for the supernatural, Blessed Solanus’ Capuchin superiors attempted to distance the priest from the crowds and eventually assigned him to retirement at the remote Capuchin novitiate in Huntington, Indiana. But the correspondence continued — and so did the miraculous activities.

Blessed Solanus’ last years were spent suffering from arthritis and especially a skin disease that had plagued him for decades. His last days were spent hospitalized in severe pain. Those around him testified that he never complained or asked for anything to take away the pain. Blessed Solanus died in Detroit on July 31, 1957, and more than 20,000 people lined up to view his body before burial. Thousands more have sought his intercession ever since.

Beatified in 2017, Blessed Solanus’ liturgical memorial is July 30.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic.

Blessed Stanley Rother was born in 1935 on a farm outside of Oklahoma City. His family came from German stock and were diligent in the practice of the Faith. They were hardworking farmers, and in his youth, Blessed Stanley was very interested in learning the family business. Before entering the seminary in San Antonio, his previous education did not include Latin, which made success in the seminary a difficult proposition. Eager to lend a helping hand with the various needs of the seminary’s physical plant, Blessed Stanley was taken advantage of in many ways by the seminary community. This, combined with a poor aptitude for learning Latin, created a perfect storm. He was dismissed from seminary only three years away from ordination.

Blessed Stanley’s Oklahoma bishop supported his vocation and believed he had potential. So he sent Blessed Stanley to Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland, the rector of which described him before ordination as “a very effective and valuable parish priest.”

As a priest, Blessed Stanley was close to his people. This was most evident, when after five years as a priest, he arrived to serve at a mission his diocese sponsored in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, among the Tzutuhil Indians.

It is amazing that despite his earlier difficulties learning Latin, that Blessed Stanley learned the difficult native language of the Tzutuhil — mostly unwritten at the time. It is clear that this was only possible on account of his missionary zeal and God’s grace that energized him. To accomplish this, he relied on immersion learning a tutor’s guidance. Mastering the language was essential for Blessed Stanley to be one with his flock. Additionally, he set out to learn Spanish.

In Guatemala, Blessed Stanley spent himself in the service of his people, truly becoming their shepherd — the one who nourished and protected them. He became known affectionately as Padre A’Plas — or, Father Francis — which used his middle since his first name was not very well translatable into Tzutuhil. Blessed Stanley put to use his skills from the farm by helping his flock learn to cultivate crops, counseled them, and even was even known to pull teeth when necessary. He spoke out for their rights and freedom when threatened by the Guatemalan government. This was in a time of great political unrest and turmoil in Guatemala that wreaked havoc on the country in the 1970s and 80s.

Blessed Stanley was more than a social worker or community organizer, though. He was the father of his flock — nourishing them in Word and Sacrament and teaching their children the Faith. Eventually, Blessed Stanley was regarded as an enemy of the Guatemalan government for equipping his people with the Gospel. Like many others, he knew his life was threatened. Many had warned him on multiple occasions. Even his own archbishop asked him to stay in Oklahoma while he was there to visit home. Despite knowing he was a target, Blessed Stanley willingly chose to return to Guatemala, continuing to defend and be a father to his flock.

Just months before his death, Blessed Stanley wrote “the shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger. Pray for us that we might be a sign of the love of Christ for our people, that our presence among them will fortify them to endure these sufferings in preparation for the kingdom.” On July 28, 1981, Blessed Stanley was killed for defending the rights and dignity of his people. His death was no less noble than his life had been. The Tzutuhil people asked to bury his heart in the parish church from which their father had preached and presided. In 2016, Pope Francis declared him a martyr, and in 2017, he was beatified as the first U.S.-born martyr and first ever native born American priest so designated.

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael.