CV NEWSFEED // Governor Laura Kelly has approved a statue memorializing the Servant of God Emil Joseph Kapaun in the Kansas State capitol building.
Kelly approved and signed the Kansas Bill 431 on March 22, 2024 instructing the capitol preservation committee to erect the statue in the Kansas capitol building. The bill passed in both chambers of the Kansas Legislature unanimously according to a news release from Bishop Carl A. Kemme of the Wichita Diocese, where Fr Kapaun served as a priest.
According to the official website tracking his cause for sainthood, served as a US Army chaplain at the tail-end of World War II, where ministered to troops in Burma and India, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Captain in January of 1946.
Fr Kapaun eventually went on to serve as a chaplain again in the Korean War in 1950, where 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.”
Fr Kapaun would often pray with the men in their foxholes, celebrate Mass on the battlefield, and frequently risk his life to administer the sacraments to the dying and to retrieve the wounded or bury the dead, “ally and enemy alike.”
Fr Kapaun decided to remain and look after wounded troops despite being offered a chance to return to the US as fighting intensified. He was soon captured and taken to a POW camp at Pyoktong, where he spent seven months continuing to carry out his priestly duties until he died in May of 1951.
“Father Kapaun was a shining light in the midst of the darkness of the Pyoktong prison camp,” the website continued:
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 Diocese is thrilled to witness the desire of the people of Kansas to honor one of her own priests,” said Bishop Kemme. “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.”
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