C A
October 15, 2021
3
Catholic Advance
Bishop: follow Fr. Kapaun's example of being a disciple
Continued from page 2. Continued on page 4.
Slideshows online
Slideshows of all of the events surrounding the return of Fr. Emil Kapaun to the dio- cese are available at YouTube. com/DioceseOfWichita. Recordings of the Vigil and Mass of Christian Burial are also at the site. Fr. David Lies shares thoughts about Fr. Kapaun and the events surrounding his return during a vigil Sept. 28 at Hart- man Arena in Park City. At left, an honor guard carries Fr. Ka- paun away from the altar after the vigil. (Advance photos) for all of you." Bishop Kemme said Fr. Ka- paun's imitation of Christ began long before that day. Father's earthly life began and was lived in a quiet, almost hid- den way, but in a way that attract- ed the attention of family, priests, parishioners, and others," he said. Something was special about young Emil Joseph Kapaun. In so many ways, he was like his middle name's sake, Joseph, he was hum- ble, obedient, virtuous, simple, and hardworking." No one was surprised when he announced he wanted to become a priest, Bishop Kemme said. Young Emil Kapaun made an almost daily, three-mile trip to St. John Nepomucene Church in Pilsen to serve Mass. He was ordained in 1940. Like all priests, he of- fered his life in obedience to the bishop in whatever form of service he would be called to give, but he heard in the quiet recesses of his heart a call within a call, the call to give of himself as a chap- lain in the armed forces." Thus began a life of sacrificial and selfless love of others, espe- cially his beloved fellow soldiers, whom he regarded as brothers, even sons, the bishop said. The accounts of his service to his fellow soldiers and in the last months to his fellow POW's reveal so much of the man whose body we honor today with Christian burial. His love was simple, effec- tive, selfless, and deep." He strived to lift the spirits of his fellow prisoners, Bishop Kemme said. He would lead them in prayer, tell a joke, sing a song, pick lice of their bodies, boil water to give them a drink of clean water to ward off dysentery, give them some meager amounts of food he had somehow managed to get - even by stealing. In short, to do whatever he could to bring light to those who entered into a darkness few of us can imagine. He was a missionary disciple of hope - and that hope indubitably kept many of those men alive." B i s h o p Kemme was among the en- tourage from the diocese that traveled the pre- vious week to Hawaii to claim the remains of Fr. Kapaun at a military facili- ty dedicated to identifying the remains of fallen soldiers. He said he was astonished when Ray Kapaun, Fr. Kapaun's nephew, asked if the bishop would like to touch the chaplain's skull. I was stunned by the invitation and after a moment expressed my deep desire to do so," he said. "As each of us reverently touched this relic of the man-many thoughts began to enter my mind. The skull is the physical foundation of so much of what makes us human, the face, the eyes, the ears, the mouth." Bishop Kemme said while do- ing so he thought of Fr. Kapaun's face that is seen in so many pho- tos, a caring face of quiet strength, a face of character, a face of a friend, a comrade, a brother that instilled courage and confidence. Those who were so blessed to look into his eyes I am confident saw a reflection of Jesus, to whom Father Emil had dedicated his life," he said. "And I thought of his lips and mouth that spoke words that lifted spirits and gave strength and courage, that gave absolution and freedom. It was in those places too that Father was baptized on his fore- head, anointed on the crown of his head as priest, prophet, and king and ordained as a priest of Jesus Christ by the imposition of hands." Several bishops from the Mid- west and the Most Rev. Richard Spencer, bishop of the Archdio- cese of Military Services, attended the funeral along with nearly all of the priests and seminarians of the Diocese of Wichita. The day ended after Fr. Ka- paun's remains were loaded onto a U.S. Army funeral caisson, a two- wheel, horse-drawn cart originally used to transport the wounded or dead from the battlefield. The pro- cession began at Veteran's Memo- rial Park, about a half-mile west of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Wichita. The caisson was led by a mili- tary color guard and was followed by Bishop Kemme, Kapaun family members, and other military per- sonnel. An estimated 3,000 peo- ple made up of Catholic school students, their families, and oth- ers lined the streets as the horse- drawn cart passed. A 21-gun salute was fired in front of the Cathedral after an honor guard carried Fr. Kapaun's body up the steps of the cathedral. Fr. Kapaun's casket was placed in a marble tomb located beneath a large crucifix in the east transept of the cathedral. Before the tomb was covered with a nameplate, di- ocesan priests, family members, and friends were allowed to touch the coffin and offer a prayer. A flight from Dallas that origi- nated in Honolulu landed in Wich- ita's Eisenhower National Airport Saturday, Sept. 25, with Fr. Ka- paun's remains. They were then taken as part of a procession to his hometown church in Pilsen for public and private services. A vespers with the clergy of the diocese was held Monday, Sept. 27, in the cathedral in Wichita. A funeral vigil was held on Tuesday in Hartman Arena. Ray Kapaun give thanks after Fr. Kapaun's funeral It has been a very emotion- al week," Ray Kapaun said as a warning before he delivered com- ments after Fr. Kapaun's funeral. After thanking the bishops and priests attending, he credited Bishop Kemme with making their return to Kansas from Hawaii the most blessed and sacred event he could have hoped for. Thank you very much," he said directing his comments to the bishop, "although I do have to say I think you would look great in a Hawaiian shirt - I'm just saying." Ray said he could talk for hours in an attempt to thank those who planned and executed everything regarding the return of Fr. Ka- paun's remains. I look out on this crowd, and see all of you people here, and I re- alize that the lives that Father Emil touched - this is just a fraction of the lives that he touched, and it's just amazing." He thanked the Diocese of Wichita and the people of Pilsen for keeping Fr. Kapaun's name alive, at a time when few knew his name, to make sure that every gen- eration would know what Fr. Ka- paun stood for. Ray joked that he and his wife, Lee, had been traveling back and forth to Pilsen so many times that they ought to look for a house to buy. He paused and then quoted Fr. Kapaun: "I'm going someplace where I've always wanted to be. And when I get there, I'll say a prayer for you." Uncle Emil," he said, "Wel- come home. Home at last." Ray stated that he frequently talks about POWs. "They've be- come my friends and almost my second fathers." The POWs came out of a death camp and told the story of Father Kapaun to anybody who would listen and told it to anybody who wouldn't listen, he said. "I tru- ly, truly believe that we probably would not be having this amazing event if it wasn't for these guys." He and his wife were blessed to be able to spend the last four days with two of the POWs, he said, adding that the love and devotion they had for him was evident. Still to this day they would lay down their lives for him." Ray then explained why the last song that would be sung at the funeral would be American the Beautiful. Fr. Kapaun at the end of his life, after a religious service had con- cluded, chose that song because he knew no matter what faith a sol- dier had they would all stand be- hind that song. Bishop Carl A. Kemme delivers his homily at Fr. Kapaun's funeral Sept. 29 in Hartman Arena. (Ad- vance photo)
Previous Page