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WICHITA (ChurchMilitant.com) - A Catholic military chaplain and recipient of the Medal of Honor has climbed another rung on the ladder to sainthood.

Servant of God Fr. Emil Kapaun enlisted in the army in the early 1940s and was in combat for two years in the Korean War. During his days of combat, Fr. Kapaun was known to head directly into enemy fire to minister to the wounded soldiers as well as running through the foxholes to remind men to pray. He even heard confession within his final hour.

After being captured, Fr. Kapaun died a prisoner of war in 1951 by contracting pneumonia and dysentery.

Those who served with Fr. Kapaun spoke of his fortitude and sanctity. His cause was initialized in 2008, and in early November 2015, the Vatican received over 1,000 pages of documentation on Fr. Kaupaun's life.

Bishop Karl Kemme of the diocese of Wichita, Kansas, has claimed, "Since the day his fellow prisoners of war in the Korean conflict were liberated after their long and cruel incarceration, during which Fr. Kapaun was instrumental in providing to his fellow soldiers unparalleled pastoral care, word of his saintly virtue has been spreading and continues to our day."

After an eight-month process, the Vatican Congregation for Causes of the Saints on June 21 approved the beginnings of his Positio, the official document used to determine if one's life was one of heroic virtue and sanctity.

After affirming the research, the congregation is now loooking at his writings and teachings to see how they correlate with those of the Church.

This all typically happens after a five-year period after the future saint's death to ensure that a desire for canonization remains among the faithful. This process may be waived, however, by the Holy Father, as was the case in Pope St. John Paul II's canonization.

From there, the candidate may be declared a Servant of God — a designation given to Kapaun in 1993 by Pope St. John Paul II.

The Positio normally comes next, whichis the process currently underway in Fr. Kapaun's cause. After its approval, the candidate then may be declared "venerable."

Prayer for the beatification and canonization of Fr. Emil Kapaun:

Lord Jesus, in the midst of the folly of war, your servant, Chaplain Emil Kapaun, spent himself in total service to You on the battlefields and in the prison camps of Korea until his death at the hands of his captors. We now ask You, Lord Jesus, if it be Your will, to make known to all the world the holiness of Chaplain Kapaun and the glory of his complete sacrifice for You by signs of miracles and peace. In your name, Lord, we ask, for You are the source of peace, the strength of our service to others, and our final hope. Amen.

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