Cause for Canonization of Fr. Vincent Capodanno

[SlightlyCatholic]

Vincent Capodanno was born on February 13th, 1929, in Staten Island, New York. After attending a year at Fordham University, young Vincent Capodanno entered the Maryknoll Missionary seminary in upstate New York in 1949. The Maryknolls were well known for sending American missionaries overseas--especially to China and Korea.


As the communists overran China, many Maryknoll priests and bishops were imprisoned and tortured. When Capodanno finished the seminary, he was ordained a priest and received his bachelor's degree in religious instruction.

Father Capodanno's first assignment was with aboriginal Taiwanese in the mountains of Taiwan where he served in a parish and later in a school. After seven years, Father Capodanno returned to the United States for leave and then was assigned to a Maryknoll school in Hong Kong.

Looking for a different challenge, Father Capodanno requested a new assignment--as a United States Navy Chaplain serving with the U.S. Marines. After finishing officer candidate's school, Father Capodanno reported to the 7th Marines, in Vietnam, in 1966. When his tour was complete, he requested an extension, served in the naval hospital and then reported to the 5th Marines.


He gained a reputation for always being there--for always taking care of his Marines.


At 4:30 am, September 4th, 1967 , in the Thang Binh District of the Que-Son Valley, elements of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines found the large North Vietnamese Unit, approx. 2500 men, near the village of Dong Son. Operation Swift was underway. The out-numbered and disorganized Company D was in need of reinforcements. By 9:14 am, twenty-six Marines were confirmed dead. The situation was in doubt and another Company of Marines was committed to the battle. At 9:25 am, the 1st Battalion 5th Marine Commander requested assistance of two company's of the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines, "M"and "K" Company.

During those early hours, Chaplain Capodanno received word of the battle taking place. He sat in on the morning briefing at the 3rd Battalion's Combat Operations Center. He took notes and listened to the radio reports coming in. As the elements of Company "M" and "K" prepared to load the helicopters. "Fr.Vince" requested to go with them. His Marines needed him. "It's not going to be easy" he stated. As Company "M" approached the small village of Chau Lam, the North Vietnamese opened up on the 2nd Platoon, which was caught on a small knoll, out in the open. The fighting was fierce, hand to hand at times, and the platoon was in danger of being overrun. Father Capodanno went among the wounded and dying, giving last rites and taking care of his Marines. Wounded once in the face and suffering another wound that almost severed his hand, Father Capodanno moved to help a wounded corpsman only yards from an enemy machinegun. Father Capodanno died taking care of one of his men.

On December 27, 1968, then Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius notified the Capodanno family that Fr. Vincent would posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his selfless sacrifice. The offical ceremony was held January 7, 1969.

Several chapels and an US Navy fast frigate were named in his honor.

On May 21, 2006, thirty-nine years after his death on the battlefield of Vietnam, Capodanno was publicly declared Servant of God, the first step towards canonization.

Father Capodanno's inspiration and dedication to "his" Marines goes much further. His story continues even today.

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The above story is of Fr. Vincent Capodanno, on whose behalf many are attempting to appeal for his canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church. Some may not know his story (as I'm sure not all here are Catholic) so I wanted to post it...just as an example of a Catholic priest with some "testicular fortitude." Unfortunately, the public opinion doesn't always place priests in a positive light, but I think in this instance we have an example of a priest who truly served "Pro Deo et Patria."

Here the link to Fr. Capodanno's cause: http://www.vincentcapodanno.org/inde...tpage&Itemid=1

Thanks for reading, everyone! God bless.

[Cyclone]

The Marine Corps Memorial Chapel in Quantico has a tribute to Father Capodanno, small in size, large in meaning. Rest in peace sir.

v/r

Cyclone

[SlightlyCatholic]

I just read the book, "The Grunt Padre", which is a biography of him. It was very good, and Fr. Capodanno's entire life is a great example for those of us looking to be military chaplains.

Also, I've listed below specifics for those who may need some clarification regarding how exactly the Catholic Church canonizes individuals. In Catholic theology, a person who is named a saint is thought to definitively be in heaven.

The process begins at the diocesan level, with the bishop giving permission to open an investigation of the virtues of the person who is suspected of having been a saint.This investigation may not open until permission is given by the Vatican, and not sooner than five years after the death of the person being investigated. However, the pope has the authority to waive this waiting period, as was done for Mother Teresa by Pope John Paul II,as well as for John Paul II himself by his immediate successor, Benedict XVI. When sufficient information has been gathered, the subject of the investigation is called Servant of God, and the process is transferred to the Roman Curia—the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints—where it is assigned a postulator, whose task is to gather all information about the life of the Servant of God. When enough information has been gathered, the congregation will recommend to the pope that he make a proclamation of the Servant of God's heroic virtue, which entitles him or her to receive the title Venerable. A Venerable has as of yet no feast day, but prayer cards may be printed to encourage the faithful to pray for a miracle wrought by his or her intercession.

The next step depends on whether the Venerable is a martyr. For a martyr, the pope has only to make a declaration of martyrdom, which then allows beatification, yielding the title Blessed and a feast day in the Blessed's home diocese and perhaps some other local calendars. If the Venerable was not a martyr, it must be proven that a miracle has taken place by his or her intercession. Today, these miracles are almost always miraculous cures, as these are the easiest to establish based on the Catholic Church's requirements for a "miracle" (for example, if the patient was sick, there was no known cure for the ailment, prayers were directed to the Venerable, the patient was cured, and doctors cannot explain it).

To pass from Blessed to Saint, one (more) miracle is necessary.

Once formally sanctified, a saint's feast day is considered universal and may be celebrated anywhere within the Catholic Church, although it may or may not appear on the general calendar.

In the case of persons have been called saints from "time immemorial" (in practice, since before 1500 or so), the Church may carry out a "confirmation of cultus," which is much simpler. For example, Saint Hermann Joseph had his veneration confirmed by Pope John Paul II.

Source: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Canonization

In the case of Fr. Vincent, there is a good chance he will be proclaimed a martyr because of the way he died. However, the question would be whether his death was truly a martyr's death. A martyr in the strictest sense is someone who dies for their faith (being killed for the sole reason that one is Catholic). While dying in the act of facilitating his faith, such actions may not merit recognition as a martyr. It'll be interesting to see what Rome has to say once the investigation is concluded and they determine whether he merits the title of "Venerable".

I hope this helped!