DETROIT – In Detroit, Catholics will be preparing all week for the first feast day for Blessed Solanus Casey, on July 30.
To mark the occasion, the Capuchins are holding nine days of events.
Dozens of people are expected to join in the celebrations. Local 4 spoke with a woman from Panama who said she was cured after visiting Casey's crypt, which is located in the Solanus Casey Center on Detroit's east side.
The center is a place where people go for comfort, strength and guidance.
Paula Medina Zarate said visiting the center in 2012 changed her life.
"I just retired, and I was invited to Detroit by two priests that worked with me, but I did not want to come because of my skin condition," Zarate said in Spanish.
Zarate said she suffered from a genetic skin condition throughout her life.
"There were very difficult times, times where my skin would open up and I would bleed," Zarate said. "I was not able to walk. I couldn't take any steps without shoes."
She said she knelt by Casey's crypt and prayed for the sick. Then, she heard a voice speaking to her.
"I asked for forgiveness," Zarate said. "I asked God for mercy because I did not know he was there with me in that moment, and I felt heat, and intense heat all over my body, from my feet and upward."
Days after that moment, Zarate said, her skin began to heal. Doctors determined her cure was nothing short of a miracle.
Zarate said she will always cherish that day.
"In sickness and health, sadness and happiness, we have to know that God exists," Zarate said.
There will be Masses celebrated at the center during the rest of the week, leading up to the first-ever celebration of Casey's feast day next week.