Kapaun is one of five servants of God who will be proclaimed venerable by the Catholic Church. Kapaun was born in Pilson, Kansas, on April 20, , and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita on June 9, , after completing theological studies at Kenrick Seminary in St.
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 , he was granted permission by Bishop Christian Winkelmann to become a U.
Army chaplain. Outside of the U. 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, , after months of malnutrition and pneumonia. Before his death, Kapaun was recognized for both his holiness and bravery while in active service. In March , after 70 years, the skeletal remains of Kapaun were identified among other unknown Korean soldiers buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. These remains were handed to American forces in by North Korea.
Kapaun's funeral Mass was held on Sept. The Holy Father has called for a consistory to prepare for the upcoming canonizations. Full Article. Petrini, who will assume her new roles on March 1, is the first woman and non-cardinal to ho Petrini, who will assume her new roles on March 1, is the first woman and non-cardinal to hold the positions — making her one of the highest-ranking women ever in the Vatican. In Tuesday's announcement, the Vatican said Pope Francis had also granted Petrini "the power to dispose and confer, appropriately, on the aforementioned secretaries-general, specific competencies or particular tasks," appearing to give her a carte blanche to choose the responsibilities of her now two righthand men.
