Wichita, Kan., Sep 25, 2021 / 16:40 pm
The remains of Servant of God Father Emil Kapaun returned to his hometown of Pilsen, Kansas on Saturday, ahead of his formal funeral Mass on Wednesday, Sept. 29.
The arrival in Kansas marks the conclusion of a 70-year journey since Kapaun, a U.S. Army Captain and chaplain in both World War II and the Korean War, died in a North Korean prisoner of war camp at the age of 35. A private service will be held at his hometown parish in Pilsen, before a public vigil and funeral Mass will be celebrated in Wichita on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Afterwards, Kapaun’s body will be interred at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita.
Kapaun’s remains were returned to the United States as part of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement, but they were not identified until March. He had previously been buried with a group of 866 other “unknowns” at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.