Military bishop receives chalice in memory of celebrated chaplain

Published: 2004-07-07

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- It's not every day someone associated with the military flies into St. Louis just to pick up a cup. But that's exactly what brought Auxiliary Bishop Francis X. Roque of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services from Washington to Shrewsbury in June. At Regina Cleri, the St. Louis archdiocesan retirement home for priests, Bishop Roque was presented with a gold-plated, sterling silver chalice in memory of Father Emil J. Kapaun, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, Kan., who made his mark as a military chaplain. Father Kapaun, who was in the class of 1940 at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, was a U.S. Army chaplain in World War II and in the Korean War. He was taken as a prisoner of war by the Chinese communists in North Korea in 1950. During his seven months in prison, he served his fellow inmates, nursed the sick and wounded, and gave them hope to survive. The priest developed a blood clot while imprisoned and was denied medication. He died in the prison camp May 23, 1951. Bishop Roque has visited with many men who served with Father Kapaun and consider him a saint in his day.

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