CV NEWSFEED // Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has approved a statue memorializing the Servant of God Emil Joseph Kapaun at the Capitol.
Kelly approved and signed on March 22 Kansas Senate Bill 431, instructing the Capitol preservation committee to erect the statue in the Kansas Capitol building. Kansas legislators unanimously passed the bill, according to a post that Diocese of Wichita Bishop Carl Kemme made on March 22. Kapaun served as a priest in the diocese.
According to the official website tracking his cause for sainthood, the priest served as a U.S. Army chaplain at the tail-end of World War II. He ministered to troops in Burma and India. He was promoted to the rank of captain in January 1946. Kapaun served as a chaplain again in the Korean War. He spent four months tending to men in battle, gaining a reputation for being “a fearless soldier who risked his life to minister to the men fighting on the front lines.” Kapaun often prayed with the men in their foxholes, celebrated Mass on the battlefield and risked his life to administer the sacraments to the dying and to retrieve the wounded or bury the dead, “ally and enemy alike.” He decided to remain and look after wounded troops despite being offered a chance to return to the U.S. as fighting intensified. He was captured and taken to a prisoner-of-war camp at Pyoktong, where he spent seven months continuing to carry out his priestly duties until he died in May 1951.
“Father Kapaun was a shining light in the midst of the darkness of the Pyoktong prison camp,” the website said. “With his selfless acts and indomitable spirit, he gave the other prisoners hope despite the tortures they experienced. His Chinese captors considered him to be an agitator and a propagandist, but their attempts to scare, threaten and humiliate him failed. “
The Bishop said in the post that the Diocese is thrilled to witness Kansas residents’ desire to honor Kapaun.
“And we are happy to be a part of the many individuals and organizations who will contribute to the memorial of Fr. Kapaun at the statehouse in Topeka,” he said.
