Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear cassocks.
Priests are real-life superheroes, but one Detroit priest took that to a whole new level when a crime suspect tried to flee police right in front of his church.
Not on this priest’s watch! Rev. Canon Jean-Baptiste Commins took down the suspect and helped police apprehend him.
Here’s the story.
Canon Commins was in his church parking lot Monday evening when he heard tires squeal and a loud crash.
A stolen car had crashed into another vehicle with police in pursuit when a young man ran from the scene wearing only one shoe. An onlooker yelled, “Stop him!” and Canon Commins jumped into action.
He told a local Detroit news station: I grabbed him and put him down. He was resisting a lot, trying to run away, definitely, and so I had to, unfortunately, give him a few punches. I hurt my hand a little bit, nothing major, but making sure that there was no threat, since I didn't know if he had a gun, if he had a weapon.
A parishioner helped him detain the suspect until police arrived and made the arrest.
A pastor’s instinct
A woman was in the other car that had sustained a crash. After police apprehended the suspect, Canon Commins hurried to check in on her with the instinct of a pastor. The woman inside suffered non-life-threatening injuries and Fox Detroit reported, "She is going to be okay."
“I rushed back to the lady, to make sure, you know, if she needed the Anointing of the Sick or a blessing or something,” he said. “So I was there, too, with the medics, and she was not very responsive. But her eyes were twitching a little bit.”
Perhaps the wildest part of the story is that he went right back to his typical routine after the brief stint of crime fighting. He told the reporter, “Yes, I went and had to do my prayers as usual and have dinner with the community… just another day in the D.”
Indeed, jumping in to help is “just another day” for Canon Commins, according to his flock. Rebecca has been a parishioner at his parish, St. Joseph Shrine, for six years, and she told Aleteia she’s not surprised to hear of his brave actions:
Having the privilege of knowing Canon Commins personally, I can say that his actions came as no surprise to those who know him well.
His courageous response was a reflection of the faith, humility, and selflessness that define both his character and his priesthood.
We are profoundly grateful for his leadership and deeply blessed to have him serving our parish and the city of Detroit.
Who is Rev. Canon Jean-Baptiste Commins?
It turns out that this isn’t the first time Canon Commins has appeared on Aleteia! Ten years ago, when he was recently ordained, Canon Commins was featured for his remarkable ice-skating prowess.
The article included some of his back story. He lived in St. Louis at the time:
A Frenchman who grew up in a military family that moved 12 times, he’s a St. Louis transplant by way of South America, the west coast of Africa, Florida, and a one-year stint at a boarding school in New Hampshire where he perfected his skating.
Today, he makes his home in Detroit, where he has been pursuing a master’s in theology at Sacred Heart Seminary, “in view of deepening his knowledge of the human person and the importance of the Salesian spirituality at the school of Don Bosco for the integral formation of man.”
A French-American citizen, he was ordained a priest of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in 2015. Besides serving as the Rector at St. Joseph Shrine, he is an Honorary Board Member for Regina Caeli Academy, a preK-12 classical homeschool hybrid, and served as a speaker on the Catholic Good News Cruise.