Catholic Fire

A beautiful tribute to our beloved Fr. Emil Kaupan: Related Posts on Catholic Fire: Another Miracle for Fr. Kaupan?  Fr. Kapaun nominated for Kansas honor TV Program featuring miracle attributed to Fr. Kapaun tonight on ABC The Miracle of Fr. Kaupan  Father Emil Kaupan on Keeping The Commandments  A Miracle in Colwich, Kansas? Father Emil Kapaun’s cause for sainthood to be officially opened this month Servant of God Father Emil Kaupan Father Kaupan's Official Website

As the country gets ready to celebrate our veterans, a senior pentagon analyst responsible for locating the remains of Korean War troops missing in action said there is a "better than even chance" that the body of Medal of Honor recipient Father Emil Kapaun will be found buried in a national cemetery in Hawaii, according to award-winning journalist Roy Wenzl, coauthor of THE MIRACLE OF FATHER KAPAUN, published by Ignatius Press. In a recent story for The Wichita Eagle, "Pentagon analyst thinks there's a chance the body of Emil Kapaun could be found," Wenzl wrote that friends of Kapaun's who were prisoners of war say Chinese Army guards buried Kapaun in a shallow unmarked grave after he died of starvation and disease in a North Korean prison camp in May 1951. The assumption since then by the Army has always been that Kapaun's remains are still there. But Pentagon analyst Philip O'Brien, an authority on Korean War soldiers missing in action, sa...

Independence Day is a holiday that unites us as we celebrate our freedom and independence as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” It also is the final day of a “Fortnight for Freedom ,” a two-week period of prayer and action called by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to address many current challenges to religious liberty, including the HHS mandate and attempts to redefine marriage. It’s a time to honor the men and women who have courageously fought, and continue to fight, for our religious freedom, as well, including the late military chaplain Fr. Emil Kapaun. Kapaun posthumously received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama in April, nearly 60 years after he heroically gave his life as a POW in the Korean War. The Vatican is also considering him a possible candidate for Sainthood. His life, service and hero’s death is the subject of an incredible new book, THE MIRACLE OF FATHER KAPAUN , co-written by Roz Wenzl and Travis Heying, and published ...

Ray Kapaun speaks about his uncle, Fr Emil Kapaun, who was recently awarded the Medal of Honor (posthumously), and is on the road to sainthood.

Just in case you missed the live-stream yesterday, here is a good news story video:

Two ceremonies relating to the awarding of the Medal of Honor to Father Emil Kapaun, named a Servant of God by the Vatican, will be held Thursday and Friday, April 11 and 12. A ceremony at the White House will be streamed at 1:10 p.m. on Thursday, and another ceremony from the Pentagon will be streamed at 1 p.m. Friday. Both streams will be available at the home page of the Wichita diocesan website here. I blogged about this event on February 23  here.

This just in, from KAKE News: The Secretary of Defense has recommended to President Obama that Kansan and Korean War hero Father Emil Kapaun receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. During the Korean War, Father Kapaun served as a chaplain of the 8th Cavalry Regiment of the First Army Division. Amidst the devastating Battle of Unsan, Kapaun pulled wounded soldiers to safety and attended to their injuries. He was taken prisoner along with other American soldiers and carried severely injured fellow soldiers on his back, while rallying others to help in a similar fashion. While in the prison camp he served his comrades by escaping to steal food from nearby farms to bring back to the starving prisoners. He cared for sick soldiers, washed them, shared his food with them, and inspired them with his unfailing faith and acts of generosity until his death in May 1951. Father Kapaun was from Pilsen, Kansas. Fellow soldiers who benefitted from or witnessed the many examples of Fath...

I read the amazing story of this "miracle" in this past Sunday's Wichita Eagle (the newspaper edition), but had planned to wait on reporting about it after the Vatican investigation; however, since it is already circulating around the Internet, I'll go ahead and share what I know at this point in time. I invite my readers from the Diocese of Wichita -- particularly those from Colwich -- who are more familiar with the details of this "miracle" story to share their reactions in the comment section below. To those of you who are not familiar with this area, Colwich is a wonderful small town -- a farming community -- not far from Wichita (19 miles) with many fervent Catholics. Some of my favorite people live there. Via The Wichita Eagle : People in Colwich like to touch Chase Kear's arm or his shoulder with their fingers. Or they hug him. "Miracle Man," they say. "Let me touch the miracle." With anybody else in Colwich, this would be j...