As the sainthood cause for a Vietnam War chaplain gathers momentum,
the priest was remembered at a memorial Mass on Wednesday as a man
“completely dedicated to the spiritual care of his Marines.”
Father Vincent Capodanno, who died in Vietnam Sept 4,1967, was one of
the “great priest chaplains,” said Archbishop Timothy P Broglio of the
Archdiocese for the Military Services in his homily at the Mass,
celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception in Washington.
“This annual gathering is to pray for him and to recall his pastoral
service as a model for chaplains and priests in general,” Archbishop
Broglio said. “The cause for his canonization is not for him, but for
us. Others should know of his dedication and his desire to serve others.
His was a response filled with faith to the Master who laid down his
life for the sheep.”
Father Capodanno, a Maryknoll priest and Navy chaplain, died in
Operation Swift in the Thang Binh district of the Que Son Valley. He
went among the wounded and dying, giving last rites. Wounded in the face
and hand, he went to help a wounded corpsman only yards from an enemy
machine gun and was killed.
Archbishop Broglio said: “One way or another, directly or indirectly,
we have been touched by the life and ministry of the ‘servant of God,’
Vincent Capodanno.”
In his homily, he challenged all given pastoral responsibilities.
“That is the constant tension in pastoral ministry: Where do I best use
my time and talents, what furthers the mission? It is the mission that
is central and not merely my career, or promotion, or whatever,” he
said.
“To receive the Lord Jesus means to open my heart with generous love.
Anyone, young or old, who meets Jesus is inevitably destined to change
and to be led to the service of others.”
To the Marine veterans gathered at the Mass, the archbishop said, “Is
that not why you, fellow Marines of Father Capodanno, have joined us
tonight? Some of you have journeyed to be here. You cannot forget the
shepherd who was there for you.” After the final blessing at Mass, a
lone trumpet played “Taps.”
In the book “The Grunt Padre” — Father Capodanno’s nickname — Marine
Cpl. Keith Rounseville said Father Capodanno “was jumping over my (fox)
hole, all the while exposing himself to enemy machine gun fire to try
and give aid to a wounded Marine. Chaplain Capodanno looked and acted
cool and calm, as if there wasn’t an enemy in sight. As he reached the
wounded Marine, Chaplain Capodanno lay down beside him and gave him aid
and verbal encouragement and telling him medical help was on the way.”
Marine Cpl. Ray Harton also remembered how he lay wounded and
bleeding from a gunshot wound to his left arm. “As I closed my eyes,
someone touched me,” he recounted for the book. “When I opened my eyes,
he looked directly at me. It was Father Capodanno. Everything got still:
no noise, no firing, no screaming. A peace came over me that is
unexplainable to this day. In a quiet, calm voice, he cupped the back of
my head and said, ‘Stay quiet, Marine. You will be OK. Someone will be
here to help you soon. God is with us all this day.’”
In 2002, Father Capodanno’s canonization cause was officially opened.
In 2004, the initial documentation for the cause was submitted to the
Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes. In 2006, a public decree of
“servant of God” for Father Capodanno, a native of Staten Island, N.Y.,
was issued by the military archdiocese.
Recently, the archdiocese established the Capodanno Guild to raise
funds and support for the sainthood cause.
On Oct. 1, Archbishop Broglio
said, there will be a formal opening of the cause to meet the canonical
requirements.