Jun

27

Cause to Open for Kansas Military Priest

June 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The canonization cause for a military chaplain who was captured when he stayed behind with wounded soldiers is set to open Sunday.

Father Emil Kapaun was taken prisoner in 1950 during the Korean War. He spent seven months ministering in prison. After a blood clot in his leg immobilized him, he was moved to a hospital where he was denied medical treatment. He died in 1951.

Bishop Michael Jackels of Wichita will celebrate Mass on Sunday in Father Kapaun’s hometown. After Mass, a celebration with Andrea Ambrosi, who will help guide the diocesan phase of the canonization process from Rome, will mark the official opening of Father Kapaun’s cause.

Once the diocesan phase is finished, Ambrosi will oversee the Roman phase of the process as the cause is presented to the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

Emil Kapaun was born in 1916. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Wichita in 1940 and entered the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps in 1944. In 1946, he returned to diocesan work, but only for two years, as he re-entered the military chaplaincy in 1948. In 1950, Father Kapaun was sent to Korea, where he would die a prisoner.


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