A Detroit priest who focused his ministry on the poor and needy has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church, a key step toward sainthood.
The Rev. Solanus Casey was known as Father Solanus, a member of the Capuchin (CAP'-uh-shin) Franciscan order of priests. He died in 1957.
Tens of thousands of people attended the beatification Mass Saturday at a Detroit stadium. Italian Cardinal Angelo Amato read a letter from Pope Francis, who described Father Solanus as a "humble, faithful disciple of Christ." He was given the title of "blessed."
Father Solanus is credited with interceding to cure a Panamanian woman of a skin disease while she prayed at his tomb in 2012. She attended the Mass.
He can be made a saint in the years ahead if a second miracle is attributed to him.
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12:40 a.m.
A priest who dedicated himself to helping others is on a path to sainthood decades after his death.
Solanus Casey, known as Father Solanus, will be beatified Saturday at a Mass attended by 65,000 people at a stadium in Detroit, the city where he spent much of his ministry.
Pope Francis said Father Solanus met the requirements to earn the title of "blessed," especially after a woman from Panama was cured of a skin disease while she prayed at his tomb in 2012.
Father Solanus can be made a saint in the years ahead if a second miracle is attributed to him.
Barred from giving homilies because of academic struggles, he dedicated himself to helping the poor and counseling people with emotional and health problems. He died in 1957.
