A Blessed Solanus-related memory unlocked

My gratitude to Angelus for featuring the beautiful photo essay on Blessed Solanus Casey in the Nov. 29 issue, as well as Bishop Matthew Elshoff’s moving reflection about his fellow Capuchin.

I still remember the day in the mid-1990s when I and a fellow lay missionary passing through Detroit, Michigan, without a penny in our pockets, showed up at the door of a Capuchin friary asking for hospitality. Neither of us knew anything about Casey. The friars opened the door and welcomed us with almost no questions asked. It was there that we learned who Casey was, since he had once lived there.

All of that came back to me as I read about Solanus’ vocation as a porter from Bishop Elshoff, and it all made sense: the Blessed’s spirit was well alive (years after his death) when those Franciscans literally opened their doors to us.

— Basil Moretti, New Jersey