Articles / Special

Father Emil Kapaun celebrating Mass using the hood of a Jeep as his altar, Oct 7, 1950
(Col. Raymond Skeehan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Renowned Korean War military chaplain and Kansas native Father Emil Joseph Kapaun was declared “venerable” by Pope Francis on February 25, 2025, one step closer to being declared a saint by the Catholic church.

Offering of Life

The Holy Father approved Kapaun based on their “offering of life.” In 2017, the pope introduced the “offering of life” category to the causes of the saints, which recognizes those who have persevered to closely follow the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and serve others “voluntarily and freely” until death.

The category of “offering of life” is “a new cause for the beatification and canonization procedure, distinct from the causes based on martyrdom and on the heroism of virtues.” This cause was introduced by Pope Francis in 2017 to recognize as saints “those Christians who, following more than closely the footsteps and teachings of the Lord Jesus, have voluntarily and freely offered their life for others and persevered with this determination unto death.”

Fr. Kapaun's cause for canonization still requires a total of two miracles attributed to his intercession before he can be declared a "saint."

About Fr. Emil Kapaun

Kapaun was born in Pilson, Kansas, on April 20, 1916, and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita on June 9, 1940, after completing theological studies at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis.

After serving as a pastor for his home parish and as an auxiliary chaplain at the Army airbase in Herington, Kansas, Kapaun discerned a call to minister to military personnel. In 1944, he was granted permission by Bishop Christian Winkelmann to become a U.S. Army chaplain.

Outside of the U.S., Kapaun was assigned to posts in Burma and India in the final years of World War II and in Korea following the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950. There he brought the sacraments to troops, tended to the injured, and prayed with soldiers in the foxholes. At times he celebrated Mass on the battlefield using the hood of a jeep as a makeshift altar.

During the Battle of Unsan, Kapaun was captured along with other soldiers and taken to a Chinese-run prison camp in Pyoktong, North Korea. While there, he regularly stole food for his fellow prisoners and tended to their spiritual needs despite a prohibition on prayer.

After being taken to what prisoners called the “death house,” Kapaun died on May 23, 1951, after months of malnutrition and pneumonia. Before his death, Kapaun was recognized for both his holiness and bravery while in active service.

In March 2021, after 70 years, the skeletal remains of Kapaun were identified among 866 other unknown Korean soldiers buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. These remains were handed to American forces in 1954 by North Korea. Kapaun’s funeral Mass was held on Sept. 29, 2021, at Wichita’s Hartman Arena, where more than 5,000 people came together to remember him.

- Article by Catholic Time Staff