Graduate students are invited to submit their work for recognition in the 2025-2026 Blessed Solanus Casey Essay Prizes.
About
Bernard Casey (1870-1957) was the son of Irish immigrants who experienced a vocational conversion after witnessing an act of violence. After failing out of diocesan seminary, he entered the Capuchins in 1897 where he took the name Francis Solanus. His continuing struggles with studies ultimately led to his ordination as a simplex priest in 1904: deprived of faculties to preach publicly, hear confessions, preside at weddings, or anoint the dying. Instead he was appointed to more menial tasks such as sacristan, director of altar boys, and eventually the monastery porter responsible for answering the door. Soon Fr. Solanus became the reason why people came to the door. His renown as a gentle guide and healer spread widely. When he died in 1957, over 20,000 people paid their respects with a legacy of literally thousands of reports of healings and favors received through him. Named “Servant of God” in 1982 and “Venerable” in 1995, he was declared blessed in 2017: the first U.S. born male to have a miracle officially recognized by Rome. His beatification in Detroit drew over 70,000 faithful and an online global audience estimated at over 250 million. The Solanus Center in Detroit, where he is entombed, regularly draws over 100,000 pilgrims annually. In the past five years over one million requests for prayers have come to his tomb.
These essay prizes are part of a larger effort to stimulate fresh interest in and study of this unique “American Blessed.”
- 1st place: $2,500
- 2nd place: $1,000
- 3rd place: $500
Eligibility
The competition is open to any graduate student in any discipline enrolled in an accredited college or university in the United States.