Early in the Korean War Chinese forces surrounded troops of the 1st Cavalry Division. Try to escape, the American soldiers warned catholic Chaplain Emil Kapaun. However, he refused to leave his wounded comrades and became a POW. His decision marked a turning point in the inspiring life of this young priest. Kapaun's faith and courage on the battlefield and in prison set an example for hundreds of young American captives. When they were starving, he stole food for them. If the men needed encouragement, he defied prison rules and prayed with them. When the communist guards mocked his faith in God, the chaplain publicly defended his heliefs. When Kapaun became sick, the communists denied him medicine and watched him die in their vermin-infested hospital. However, they could not extinguish the memories of how he served other prisoners. The Army awarded the chaplain the Distinguished Service Cross and the Vatican named him Servant of God. This book is a well-documented biography of an extraordinary person.

Part biography of a wartime adventurer, part detective story, and part faith journey, this intriguing book from a New York Times journalist and bestselling author takes us inside the modern-day making of a saint. The Saint Makers chronicles the unlikely alliance between Father Hotze and Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, a country priest and a cosmopolitan Italian canon lawyer, as the two piece together the life of a long dead Korean War hero and military chaplain and fashion it into a case for eternal divinity. Joe Drape offers a front row seat to the Catholic Church's saint-making machinery—which, in many ways, has changed little in two thousand years-and examines how, or if, faith and science can co-exist. This rich and unique narrative leads from the plains of Kansas to the opulent halls of the Vatican, through brutal Korean War prison camps, and into the stories of two individuals, Avery Gerleman and Chase Kear, whose lives were threatened by illness and injury and whose family and friends prayed to Father Kapaun, sparking miraculous recoveries in the heart of America. Gerleman is now a nurse, and Kear works as a mechanic in the aerospace industry. Both remain devoted to Father Kapaun, whose opportunity for sainthood relies in their belief and medical charts. At a time when the church has faced severe scandal and damage, and the world is at the mercy of a pandemic, this is an uplifting story about a priest who continues to an example of goodness and faith. Ultimately, The Saint Makers is the story of a journey of faith—for two priests separated by seventy years, for the two young athletes who were miraculously brought back to life with (or without) the intercession of the divine, as well as for readers—and the author—trying to understand and accept what makes a person truly worthy of the Congregation of Saints in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

"Previously distributed as a masters thesis by the same title"--T.p. verso. Includes index. Chaplains, Military -- Biography.

We Are All Called is the culmination of a series of life experiences for Father J. Thomas Heron, 40 years a priest. When Fr. Heron was just four years old, his dad died of heart failure. This impactful life event forced Fr. Heron to mature at a young age, but also led him to ask many important questions. Had it not been for the vital spiritual and vocational mentors in his life, he may have never learned how to cope with tragedy and death - which he has now seen many times over - with grace and goodness. Fr. Heron believes in e.e. cummings' mantra, "we cannot be born enough" - that we all experience many births in life, and that we are all called by the Blessed Trinity to realize our places in salvation history, while carrying out our personal destinies. He is hopeful you will shed tears of joy and tears of empathy as you read his collection of stories, and ultimately realize many truths in your own life.

A comprehensive history of the Catholic Church from its beginnings in Jesus' ministry to its current status in an increasingly secular world.

Daring and devoted, Father Kapaun (pronounced Cape'n) gave his all for the men who were imprisoned with him in North Korea. "He saved my life," was the statement of hundreds who were dragged from the battlefield by him, who were nursed back to health, fed with the food he had "stolen," who were given the will to live and the hope of freedom by this kindly priest. All creeds, colors and classes shared in the kindness and inspiration of this man of God. "100% man," "An inspiration," "A saint." No praise is too great from the men who were with him. Reading the story of Chaplain Kapaun will inspire you. At the time this book was originally published in 1954, The author, Father Arthur Tonne, had authored 22 books, mostly volumes of sermons and collections of stories for preaching and teaching. After five years of teaching, he organized and directed for thirteen years the Newman Club att Kansas State Teachers College, Emporia, where he gave more than 300 talks over radio station KTSW. He had preached missions and retreats in 22 states, and had spoken to numerous university, civic, and fraternal groups. As pastor of St. John Nepomucene, the Pilsen Catholic Church, the home parish of Chaplain Kapaun, he was in an ideal position to secure the material and background for this account of an outstanding patriot.