The Ice Cream that Didn’t Melt: A Sweet Miracle in Detroit, Michigan

The lame will walk. The blind shall see. And…the ice cream won’t melt?

It may sound strange that there is a miracle surrounding a frozen dairy dessert, but it is indeed one of the many signs our Lord performed through a humble friar in Detroit, Michigan. Blessed Solanus Casey, born to Irish immigrant parents in Wisconsin, heard our Lady tell him, “Go to Detroit” to seek out his vocation. There, he entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (also known as the Capuchin Franciscans). However, as he failed to pass seminary classes time and time again, he was ordained a simplex priest. Fr. Solanus would never hear a confession or preach a doctrinal sermon.

To most, this would seem like a humiliating circumstance. But it is most often that the most humble sheep are chosen by the Good Shepherd to work His wonders. Though Fr. Solanus served in humble positions and ministries in New York City, NY; Yonkers, NY; Huntington, IN; and finally Detroit, MI, he quickly became known as a miracle worker. Thousands would line up to approach the desk of the humble doorkeeper of Detroit, asking for advice and prayers.
Fr. Solanus would often quietly listen, writing their intentions down in a notebook, and encouraging his visitors to trust in God’s mercy by thanking God in advance for their intention. Thousands of prayers were miraculously answered, many involving physical healings and other remarkable stories of God’s providence—including an ice cream miracle.

A Franciscan friar was suffering from a tremendous toothache and dreading an awful surgery. On his way out the door of St. Bonaventure’s monastery, he asked his fellow friar Fr. Solanus to pray for him. The humble simplex priest smiled and responded with his life’s motto: Thank God ahead of time.

While the ailing friar was gone, a woman came to express gratitude for answered prayers with two ice cream cones. Fr. Solanus, incredibly busy at that particular moment, thanked her and put the cones in his desk drawer - an odd decision for a hot summer day. About half an hour later, the other friar returned, proclaiming that his tooth was miraculously cured with no medical intervention. To celebrate, Fr. Solanus pulled out two perfectly cold ice cream cones from his desk drawer.

Though this summery miracle occurred more than 70 years ago, you can go and sit at the desk which received thousands of visitors and prayer requests - and whose drawer held that miraculous ice cream! The Solanus Casey Center is home to Blessed Solanus Casey’s final resting place, where pilgrims still flock to ask the humble friar for his intercession. The Center is also home to a museum which tells the life and ministry of Blessed Solanus Casey, and how his prayers and trust in God’s providence changed the lives of so many who came to him.

So, next time you have a prayer request, follow the advice of Blessed Solanus Casey to “Thank God ahead of time.” If that prayer is answered, thank Him again…and maybe go ahead and celebrate with a little ice cream too.