Born in Wisconsin in 1870, Solanus Casey became a Capuchin Franciscan friar. Because of academic limitations, he was ordained as a "simplex" priest, that is, one who could celebrate Mass but not preach or hear confessions. But he preached Christian charity in the way he lived his life.
According to the
Solanus Casey Center in Detroit, he "faithfully served the people of ... New York City [and other places] by providing soup for the hungry, kind words for the troubled, and a healing touch for the ill. Wherever he served, people would line up for blocks for a moment with Bl. Solanus."
He died in 1957.