Praying for a cause
Supporters of Fr. Solanus Casey to gather for novena
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
July 20, 2007
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Robert Delaney | The Michigan Catholic
Capuchin Bro. Leo Wollenweber, vice postulator for the cause of Ven. Solanus Casey, reads one of the many letters hereceives from people who believe Fr. Solanus' intercession led to a healing. |
Detroit – With the 50th anniversary of the death of Ven. Solanus Casey approaching on July 31, supporters of his cause for sainthood will be gathering for a special novena from July 23-31 at sites in Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, New York and Minnesota.
"Solanus Casey's rich life spanned many cities," and his fame has spread even beyond those, says Capuchin Bro. Richard Merling, explaining that — besides St. Bonavenure Monastery in Detroit — the novena will be held in Huntington, Ind.; Stillwater, Minn.; Harlem, Yonkers and New York City, N.Y.; and Appleton, Hudson, Prescott and Superior, Wis.
If canonized, Fr. Solanus would be the first American-born male saint.
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Ven. Solanus Casey (1870-1957) was a Capuchin priest who spent part of hisministry at St. Bonaventure Monastery. | For Bro. Leo Wollenweber, OFM Cap., vice postulator of Fr. Solanus' cause, the novena is another sign of hope that there might be progress during this 50th anniversary of his death.
The cause was opened in 1966, and Fr. Solanus was declared venerable on July 11, 1995, but what's needed for the Church to take the next step and beatify him (declare him blessed) is certification of a miracle attributed to his intercession, Bro. Wollenweber explains.
With so many testimonies of healing as a result of Fr. Solanus' prayers, that might seem easy, but only miracles that occurred after his death may be considered and the Vatican's standards are very stringent.
Novena schedule
- The novena in honor of the 50th anniversary of the death of Ven. Solanus Casey will begin Monday, July 23, and end Tuesday, July 31, the date of his death back in 1957.
- The litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, special prayers for Fr. Solanus' beatification and Mass will be offered at 12:15 p.m., weekdays, at the chapel of St. Bonaventure Monastery, 1780 Mount Elliott Ave. in Detroit.
- On Saturday, July 28, the time will be 5 p.m. On Sunday, July 29, the litany, prayers and Mass will be offered at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with Cardinal Adam Maida as principal celebrant at the 1:30 p.m. Mass.
- Prayer cards available from www.solanuscasey.org or (313) 579-2100, ext. 169.
| "The Church doesn't expect the doctors to declare it a miracle, but it does expect them to say there is no medical explanation. We did present three very strong cases, but for one reason or another they were rejected," Bro. Wollenweber says.
"Now, we have another case that looks very promising, and I hope to have it ready to present to the postulator in Rome in September," he adds.
Bro. Wollenweber, 89, who entered the Capuchins in 1940, not only lived at St. Bonaventure Monastery along with Fr. Solanus during the early '40s, but from 1945 worked with him, helping him answer his mail.
Now, he answers mail from those who remember the famed monastery doorkeeper or who have testimony of favors received through his intercession.
"Of course, God is the only one who grants the favor, but it can be through the intercession of the holy person," Bro. Wollenweber points out.
Bro. Wollenweber's office is in the Solanus Casey Center, built adjacent to the monastery in 2002 — not just to memorialize Fr. Solanus, but to promote his message of gratitude to God, he is quick to add.
"Fr. Solanus' great message was to be thankful — to thank God for everything, even to be thankful in advance for what would be coming into our lives," Bro. Wollenweber says, adding, "He had a tremendous sense of gratitude to God, and a belief that mankind's great fault is one of ingratitude."
If he could ask Fr. Solanus one question, Bro. Wollenweber says it would be: "What more can I do to please God, to find my destiny and grow in love for God?"
And he says he thinks he knows what Fr. Solanus would reply. "I think it would be to thank God in advance."
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