Detroit friar becomes second US-born man to be named 'blessed'

A Detroit friar is to become only the second US-born man to be named “blessed”, sixty years after his death.

Pope Francis announced on May 4 that Capuchin Father Solanus Casey, who had earlier been named venerable, met the requirements for beatification and will be named "blessed" - the second US-born man to achieve such a designation and the first person from Michigan.

Father Casey was born in Oak Grove, Wisconsin, in 1870, and spent most of his adult life and ministry in Detroit. He helped establish the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in 1929 to feed hungry people during the Great Depression, a work that continues in Detroit today. By the time of his death July 31, 1957, devotion to Father Casey had grown to the point that more than 8,000 people attended his funeral.