On this weeks programme John and Shane are joined by Fr John Hotze all the way from the diocese of Wichita in Kansas, USA to share with us the story of a farm boy from Kansas who is on his way to becoming a saint of the church - Fr Emil Kapaun.
Fr John shares with us the story of witness and christian hope of Emil Kapaun who was a Catholic priest and U.S. Army Chaplain born in the small Czech farming community of Pilsen, Kansas and who served with heroic Christian witness during the Korean War and in a POW camp in China after the war.
At the Battle of Unsan on November 2 1950, Kapaun braved the battlefield to rescue men or give them Last Rites. He showed his dedication to his "boys" by choosing to remain with a number of wounded men rather than escape. Captured by the enemy, this group was forced to march over 60 miles to a prison camp along the Chinese border in the bitter cold. Along the way, Father Kapaun carried his wounded comrades and encouraged them to do likewise. For his actions at the Battle of Unsan, Kapaun was awarded the military’s highest award, the Medal of Honor, in 2013.
In his seven months in the prison camp, Father Kapaun spent himself in heroic service to his fellow prisoners without regard for race, color, or creed, giving them help and hope when they needed it most. Ignoring his own ill health, he nursed the sick and wounded, stole food for the hungry, picked lice off of men, washed dirty and soiled clothing, and encouraged men through prayer and humor to keep fighting for life. Falling sick, the Chinese moved Father Kapaun to a so-called hospital, where, denied medical assistance, his death soon followed on May 23, 1951. Before his death, he said “Don’t worry about me,” he told his fellow POWs who were devastated at the loss of their friend and chaplain, “I’m going where I always wanted to go, and when I get there I’ll say a prayer for all of you.” And, in a message of reassurance for his superior back home: “Tell my bishop I died a happy death.”
You can find out more about Fr Emil's story and his road to canonisation HERE and HERE.