Venerable Emil Kapaun
US Army chaplain who stayed with the wounded and died in a Korean prison camp in 1951
- Rank
- Venerable
- Kind
- Priest
- Life
- 1916 – 1951
- Era
- 20th century
- Countries
- United States, South Korea
Life story
Emil Kapaun was born on 20 April 1916 in Pilsen, Kansas. He was ordained for the Diocese of Wichita on 9 June 1940. In 1944 he joined the US Army as a chaplain, was sent to the China-Burma-India theatre in 1945 and was discharged in 1946. He returned to the army in 1948 and went to Korea with the 1st Cavalry Division in 1950, celebrating Mass at the front, sometimes on the hood of a jeep.
In November 1950, after Chinese forces entered the war, his unit was surrounded at Unsan. He could have escaped but chose to stay and tend the wounded, and was captured. He also stopped the execution of a wounded soldier. At the Pyoktong prison camp in North Korea the guards forbade his ministry, but he continued it, prayed for the guards and rebutted communist indoctrination.
In 1951 he fell ill and was moved to the camp hospital, where patients were left to die; he died on 23 May 1951 of pneumonia and a blood clot, aged 35. His remains were identified by DNA in 2021 and reburied in Wichita's cathedral in September 2021. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on 11 April 2013. He was named a Servant of God in 1993, and on 24 February 2025 Pope Francis authorised the decree declaring him Venerable for offering his life.
Works and witness
- Ordained for the Diocese of Wichita on 9 June 1940
- Served as a US Army chaplain from 1944, in Burma-India and Korea
- Stayed with the wounded when his unit was surrounded at Unsan in November 1950
- Ministered to fellow prisoners at Pyoktong until he died on 23 May 1951
- Awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013; declared Venerable in 2025
Saints from the same country
References
- Catholic Diocese of Wichita, 'Pope deems Fr. Emil Kapaun Venerable' (catholicdioceseofwichita.org); KWCH, “Fr. Emil Kapaun named venerable, one step closer to sainthood” (25 February 2025) – Servant of God 1993, remains located March 2021 and entombed in Wichita cathedral September 2021, alleged miracles under review
- St. Louis Review and Catholic Weekly (February 2025) – decree dated 24 February 2025, 'offering of life'; Unsan, Pyoktong, died 23 May 1951 (seen via search excerpts). Medal of Honor 11 April 2013 from Wikipedia. The Bronze Star sentence could not be verified and was removed
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.