Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem commends Capuchins' work with the poor, given first-class relic of Blessed Solanus Casey
DETROIT — Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, visited his fellow Franciscans at Detroit's Solanus Casey Center on Dec. 5 on the second day of his four-day pastoral visit to Detroit to raise support for Christians in the Holy Land.
The cardinal's visit, which began Thursday with a Mass and dinner with Metro Detroit's Chaldean community, continued with a stop to pray at the tomb of Blessed Solanus Casey, Detroit's own saintly friar who was beatified in 2017.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was given a tour of the Solanus Casey Center at St. Bonaventure Monastery by Bro. Rob Roemer, OFM Cap., guardian of St. Bonaventure Monastery, and Fr. Mark Joseph Costello, OFM Cap., provincial minister of the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph.
"The visit of His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, was a moment of profound grace for the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph,” Fr. Costello told Detroit Catholic. “As Capuchin friars, we were deeply honored to welcome a fellow Franciscan whose ministry in the Holy Land so clearly embodies the Gospel values of peace, presence, and solidarity with marginalized peoples.”
The tour included a walkthrough of a display chronicling the life of Blessed Solanus, the On the Rise Bakery and Café, and, most importantly, time at Blessed Solanus' tomb, where His Beatitude offered a prayer for Blessed Solanus' canonization.
Cardinal Pizzaballa then joined the Capuchins for coffee and refreshments in the monastery dining room, where he spoke candidly with his brother Franciscans about the state of the Church in the Holy Land, the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, ecumenical relations with other churches and how religious orders can address growing secularization and younger generations who are seeking spiritual direction.
“His visit was a true blessing and a reminder of our shared Franciscan mission in service to the people of God," Bro. Costello said. "His Beatitude also shared with his Capuchin brothers his reflections on the state of affairs in Israel."
Fr. Costello gave Cardinal Pizzaballa a first-class relic of Blessed Solanus to take back to the Holy Land "as a sign of our fraternity," he said.
Bro. Costello said the morning visit was “a powerful moment of shared reverence for a friar whose life of humble service continues to inspire the Church around the world.”
(Photos by Daniel Meloy | Detroit Catholic)
