Hello, John!
When Blessed Solanus Casey joined the Capuchin Franciscans, he was entering an order that values humility among the highest virtues. Good thing, too, because he was often put into humbling situations.
His poor scholarship at seminary caused the leaders there to ordain him as only a "simplex priest," with no authority to hear confessions. When he arrived at his first assignment after ordination, he was assigned the lowly position of porter.
And yet, no one who met Solanus could deny his holiness. At seminary, the director of students compared him to the French priest John Vianney, who also struggled in his studies during his life but was canonized in 1925.
You can learn more about how Solanus persevered through his struggles with humility and joy in our newly updated biography, Gratitude and Grit.
