# Father Solanus Casey Was A Living Saint **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 24, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492 "2022-07-24T23:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/1 "2022-07-24T23:13:53Z")
I don’t know if any of you non Catholics can know or relate, or even any of you Catholics in this day and age. But supposedly every now and then, there comes along a person in the RC church who is a living saint. St. Anthony of Padua was supposedly such a person. And so was St. Benedict, just for perspect. (I’ll file this under testifying, which is why I put it in GD.) Seriously. Miracles waited on his [i.e., Fr. Solanus’] very word. He was technically the humble doorman at St. Bonaventures at 1780 Mt. Elliot in Detroit (where the tomb is found today BTM). He’d pray over people and they’d report an immediate cure, sometimes. I had an uncle who had a potentially fatal infection of his mastoids when he was still an infant. At the very least the doctors of the time said he’d be deaf, blind and severely developmentally handicapped the rest of his life. Fr. Solanus prayed over him, and he made a full recovery! (He later went on to abuse his adopted son. But Fr. Solanus didn’t know that at the time.) And when he [my uncle] died in 2006, you’d say he was the picture of health. (BTW, not that it matters, but my uncle married my mother’s sister. No direct relationship to me 🙂 .) There are numerous stories. [Here](https://www.solanuscenter.org/#) is his website and [here](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanus_Casey) is his Wikipedia article, if you’re interested. If you’re ever ill or in distress, and you’re in Detroit, go to his now-enshrined tomb. I did once at a dark point in my life. And now I’m much better! Anyway, there is more. Fr. Solanus is not a saint yet. I think he’s only been beatified. You know, the United States has so few saints that it can call its own. And Detroit has none. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful bonus for Detroit, to have for the first time its own saint? And think of all the pilgrims it would bring here. It would be great. I would send our present Pope a letter, if I could. He seems nice and reasonable. But the Vatican no longer has a website or email address. Also, it’s been a long time. But I still have to ask: does anyone else have any personal stories about Bl. Solanus Casey? Thank you in advance for your kindly and civil replies 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/2 "2022-07-24T23:20:38Z")
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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/3 "2022-07-24T23:22:10Z")
Closed as not a debate or witnessing. Just some rambling something. We have a rule about not blogging. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/4 "2022-07-25T21:10:17Z")
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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/5 "2022-07-25T21:10:47Z")
Reopened as even rambling posts like this are considered Witnessing. 2022-07-29: as per a rule change, moved to IMHO. > [@About the Great Debates category](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-great-debates-category/911003): > > For long-running discussions of the great questions of our time. This is also the place for religious debates. Other discussion of religion, religious figures, personal beliefs and the like typically belongs in the IMHO or MPSIMS forums. Moderators : @raventhief@What_Exit@Aspenglow ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/6 "2022-07-25T22:50:02Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Anyway, there is more. Fr. Solanus is not a saint yet. I think he’s only been beatified. The Church has attested to one miracle so far: Blessed Solanus Casey interceded on behalf of one [Paula Medina Zarate, who prayed at his tomb in 2012 and was subsequently and inexplicably cured](https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/the-scales-began-to-fall-woman-recounts-miracle-that-led-to-beatification) of a genetic condition that made her skin scaly (_ichthyosis vulgaris_). If one more miracle is attributed to his intercession, he will be canonized as a saint. To say he was a _living_ saint, in the formal theological sense, is something wholly different. Is it possible for the Catholic Church to recognize a living individual as a saint? I always understood that sainthood, by definition, meant the person was in heaven and thus deceased. Also, the Vatican’s website is right here: [https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html](https://www.vatican.va/content/vatican/en.html) ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/7 "2022-07-25T23:13:34Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > To say he was a _living_ saint, in the formal theological sense, is something wholly different. Is it possible for the Catholic Church to recognize a living individual as a saint? I always understood that sainthood, by definition, meant the person was in heaven and thus deceased. As is often the case, Catholics and Protestants mean different things when they use the word. But since the OP seems to be Catholic, I’m not sure what he means by it. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/8 "2022-07-25T23:26:56Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > The Church has attested to one miracle so far: Blessed Solanus Casey interceded on behalf of one [Paula Medina Zarate, who prayed at his tomb in 2012 and was subsequently and inexplicably cured](https://www.detroitcatholic.com/news/the-scales-began-to-fall-woman-recounts-miracle-that-led-to-beatification) of a genetic condition that made her skin scaly (_ichthyosis vulgaris_). He’s got to do this many times to rule out coincidence. Or should have to. I guess it depends on how badly one wants to create a saint. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/9 "2022-07-26T00:12:12Z")
Normally it’s two miracles, but I believe Pope John XXIII was canonized as a saint with only one. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/10 "2022-07-26T00:14:07Z")
Seems unscientific. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/11 "2022-07-26T00:15:35Z")
As I understand it, in Catholicism a “saint” is anyone currently in Heaven; the Church doesn’t make someone a saint by canonizing them, they just acknowledge what has been demonstrated to be true. If the Pope isn’t in Heaven, then you’ve got problems. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/12 "2022-07-26T00:16:09Z")
I might walk up to batting practice at a big league stadium and hit a home run. I might do it. Could I do it twice? Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/13 "2022-07-26T00:17:06Z")
A saint? A saint could do it on demand. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/14 "2022-07-26T00:17:50Z")
I would actually be interested in reading the debate between the postulator and the promoter of the faith. The postulator is supposed to argue that a miracle occurred, the promoter of the faith is supposed to try and present an alternate explanation. Apparently a previous attempt at getting a different miracle certified for Solanus Casey failed. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/15 "2022-07-26T00:18:30Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > I would actually be interested in reading the debate between the postulator and the promoter of the faith. Knock yourself out. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/16 "2022-07-26T00:20:18Z")
Tried to find documents online, but I could only find _pictures_ of some clergymen holding a package, presumably filled with documentation of the miracle. [![](https://detroitcatholic.imgix.net/mcn/2017/11/Healing-2-e1510521375317-1024x696.jpg) ](https://detroitcatholic.imgix.net/mcn/2017/11/Healing-2-e1510521375317-1024x696.jpg) ~Max ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/17 "2022-07-26T00:22:18Z")
Ironclad. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/18 "2022-07-26T00:23:39Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > presumably filled with documentation of the miracle. “Documentation of the miracle” is clergyman code for “kiddy porn”. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/19 "2022-07-26T00:24:17Z")
Warning: Box Must Never Be Opened Or You’re Going To Hell And Taking Everyone Else With You!!! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2022, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492/20 "2022-07-26T00:24:19Z")
Really I would have wanted to read the promoter of the faith’s side. He’s the ‘devil’s advocate’ who would say, this is not a miracle, it’s a coincidence explainable by science, etc. Presumably he isn’t a _total_ pushover as a previous miracle was rejected. ~Max [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/father-solanus-casey-was-a-living-saint/968492.md?page=2)