Pope Francis has declared Father Emil Joseph Kapaun Venerable, recognizing his heroic virtue and sacrifice as a US Army chaplain in World War II and the Korean War.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Causes of Saints issued the decree on February 24, 2025, moving Kapaun closer to sainthood.
Born in Pilsen, Kansas, in 1916, Kapaun was ordained in 1940 and joined the US Army Chaplain Corps in 1944. He served in India and Burma during World War II before deploying to Korea with the 8th Cavalry Regiment. During the Korean War, he ministered to soldiers on the battlefield, braving gunfire to rescue the wounded and offer last rites.
Captured at the Battle of Unsan in 1950, Kapaun refused to abandon his fellow soldiers. As a prisoner of war, he stole food for starving men, tended to the sick, and defied his captors’ bans on prayer. He ultimately died in a North Korean prison camp on May 23, 1951.
President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Kapaun the Medal of Honor in 2013. His remains, previously unidentified, were confirmed in 2021 and reinterred in Wichita, Kansas.
The Vatican recognized Kapaun under the category of “offering of life,” a path to sainthood introduced by Pope Francis in 2017. A confirmed miracle is now required for his beatification, followed by a second for canonization as a Saint.
The Church is now reportedly investigating reported miraculous healings attributed to his intercession.
Ven. Emil Kapaun, pray for us! 🙏
Did you know? All chaplains given the Medal of Honor since the Civil War are Catholic!
Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
