Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / Capuchins mark 125 years in Detroit, 150 in U.S.
Capuchins mark 125 years in Detroit, 150 in U.S.
Robert Delaney of The Michigan Catholic
Published December 7, 2007
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Capuchin Province of St. Joseph Photo
Back in the 1930s, all the Capuchins of St. Bonaventure’s served in the Detroit soup kitchen,including Ven. Fr. Solanus Casey (standing near left of picture). teenagers that will take place in February. From left: Victoria Pruess, 17; Kerry Rice, 16; Chris Rettich, 16; Jessica Wisienski, 17; and Mark Renshaw, 16. |
Detroit — Friars of the Province of St. Joseph concluded their celebration of the Capuchins' 150th anniversary in the United States last Sunday.
For the friars of the Detroit-based province, the series of anniversary celebrations have been a time for both looking back on their history and looking ahead to their future, said Fr. Dan Anholzer, OFM Cap., the provincial.
The spotlight was on the future during part of last Sunday's ceremony, as the anniversary Mass included the first profession of vows for a new Capuchin brother.
"After a long period of almost no new vocations, this year we are professing one and we have six in the novitiate," Fr. Anholzer said.
Although the number of friars in the province is down to about 180 from around 400 back in the 1960s, he expressed confidence the Capuchins would be able to maintain existing ministries and even consider new ones.
Locally, the best known of those is the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, started during the Great Depression and now serving hot meals from two sites, as well as operating a service center that distributes bags of food, the EarthWorks urban farm and Jefferson House, a substance abuse treatment program.
Who are the Capuchins?
The Capuchins are one of the three major religious orders for men inspired by Sr. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare in the 13th century. Founded in 1528 in Italy as a reform movement by Franciscans who sought a return to some of their order's original ideals, the Capuchins are today one of the largest orders for men in the Catholic Church, with about 11,000 members worldwide. | Capuchins have a long tradition of feeding anyone who shows up at their door hungry, says Fr. Patrick McSherry, OFM, the province's archivist.
"It's not just about feeding people; it's about having an encounter with people in a loving and respectful way. We share our lives, and people share their lives with us," he said.
The friars also operate Solanus Casey Center, adjacent to St. Bonaventure Monastery, which celebrates the life, ministry and message of the province's most famous member, Ven. Solanus Casey.
Fr. Solanus (1870-1957) spent many years of his ministry at St. Bonaventure. Here and elsewhere, many people claimed astonishing healings as a result of his prayers. With continuing claims of healings through his intercession after his death, a cause for sainthood was launched.
In 1995, Pope John Paul II declared him worthy of veneration. If eventually canonized, he would become the first American-born male recognized as a saint.
"We just stand in amazement as people continue to come to us with stories about Fr. Solanus," said Fr. McSherry.
The friars also serve at three parishes in the Archdiocese of Detroit — St. Charles Borromeo, Detroit; St. Mary Magdalen, Hazel Park; and St. Ronald, Clinton Township.
It has been a double anniversary for the friars of the province, as they also marked the 125th anniversary of their presence in Detroit.
In the early 1880s, the Capuchins wrote Bishop Caspar Borgess of Detroit, who said they could become chaplains to Mount Elliott Cemetery on the city's lower east side and build a monastery.
The Capuchins accepted and occupied a small house in the cemetery in 1882 until St. Bonaventure Monastery could be built across Mount Elliott Avenue in 1883.
Precisely when the province relocated its headquarters from Mount Calvary, Wis., to Detroit, is uncertain, but Fr. McSherry said it was definitely here by 1912.
As the first province of the Capuchin branch of the Franciscans to be formed in the U.S., the St. Joseph Province once included the entire country in its territory.
As the order grew, new provinces were formed, and the St. Joseph Province now stretches from Michigan west to Montana (with some ministries in Central American countries, as well).
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Capuchin Province of St. Joseph
St. Bonaventure Monastery, Detroit, in 1883, with just the chapel and one wing completed. |
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Capuchin Province of St. Joseph
Capuchins, like St. Francis, love and respect creation, as shown in this undated photo from many years ago. Those long beards, once required of all Capuchins, became optional in 1968. | The Capuchins first came to the United States in 1857, when three diocesan priests from Switzerland decided to come to the United States as missionaries – and become Capuchin Franciscans.
The bishop of Milwaukee said they could come to Mount Calvary and start a high school seminary.
To become Capuchins, however, they needed the direction of a Capuchin novice master, and a Swiss Capuchin agreed to come.
Only two of the three priests ultimately took vows, and those two — Fr. John Frey, who took the religious name Fr. Bonaventure, and Fr. Gregor Haas, who took the religious name Fr. Francis — are counted as the province's founders.
Besides Fr. Solanus Casey, there is another friar for whom a cause for sainthood was started — Fr. Stephen Eckert (1869-1923), who is known as Milwaukee's apostle to Black Americans.
More information about the Capuchins of St. Joseph Province can be found at www.capuchinfranciscans.org.
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