🎥 Special Mass held in Hawaii for revered Kansas priest

Photo courtesy Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace — Photo courtesy Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace

WICHITA —The remains of a Catholic priest from Kansas who is being considered for sainthood were returned to his family during a ceremony Tuesday in Hawaii.

On Thursday at 11p.m. CDT, the Most Rev. Clarence Richard Silva, the bishop of Honolulu, held a Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, as a ceremonial send-off for Fr. Emil Kapaun’s remains.

U.S. Defense officials gave the remains of Rev. Emil Kapaun to his family and officials with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita.

Photo courtesy Catholic Diocese of Wichita

The remains will be flown back to Kansas, where they will be taken first to Pilsen — Kapaun’s hometown — before going to Wichita, where a funeral is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Bishop Kemme and the representatives of the Diocese of Wichita, along with Bishop Silva of Honolulu, visited the National Cemetery of the Pacific where Father Kapaun was buried for almost 65 years. It was in the Courts of the Missing for the Korean War. His name is in gold to signify he is a Medal of Honor recipient, and the rosette was placed this past July by his nephew Ray to indicate that he has been identified-photo courtesy Catholic Diocese of Wichita<br> — Bishop Kemme and the representatives of the Diocese of Wichita, along with Bishop Silva of Honolulu, visited the National Cemetery of the Pacific where Father Kapaun was buried for almost 65 years. It was in the Courts of the Missing for the Korean War. His name is in gold to signify he is a Medal of Honor recipient, and the rosette was placed this past July by his nephew Ray to indicate that he has been identified-photo courtesy Catholic Diocese of Wichita

Kapaun was captured in 1950 while attending to soldiers during the Korean War. He died of pneumonia at the POW camp while continuing to minister to fellow prisoners.

Kapaun was awarded the Medal of Honor. In 1993, the Catholic church named him a “Servant of God,” which began the lengthy process of canonization.

The Defense Department’s POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced in March that Kapaun’s remains had been identified at the agency’s laboratory at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Fr. Kapaun's tomb arrived Sept.13-photo courtesy  Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception — Fr. Kapaun's tomb arrived Sept.13-photo courtesy Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

On March 4, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency reported the remains of Father Emil Kapaun were positively identified.

Kapaun, the Marion County-native, a priest of the Diocese of Wichita, served as an Army Chaplain during WWII and the Korean War, and was taken as a Prisoner of War in 1951. He continued to minister to Americans as a POW before passing away on May 23, 1951.

A public Vigil service for Fr. Emil J. Kapaun will be held at Hartman Arena on September 28th at 7:00 p.m. On Wednesday, September 29th a Mass will be held at Hartman Arena at 10:30 a.m. Following the Mass of Christian Burial at Hartman Arena, Father Kapaun's remains will process from Veterans Memorial Park (339 Veterans Memorial Pkwy) by way of horse-drawn caisson from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception where he will finally be laid to rest.