This is a time of war for Americans, both literally in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also in the public square as we battle in the arena of ideas, public policy and politics. And for Catholics, of course, we are always engaged in spiritual combat against the devil and his minions. And so, with much warfare around us, we must pray to a great hero and servant of God, Fr. Vincent Capodanno, for help.

Fr. Vincent in Vietnam during Christmas.
God, faithful in all times, gave us a model for living the Gospel in Fr. Vincent. In 2006, he was named a Servant of God by the Church and Fr. Capodanno’s case for canonization was opened.
Fr. Vincent was a Staten Island boy, Marynoll Priest, Asian missionary, Navy Chaplain, minister to combat Marines in Vietnam (1966-1967) and finally the posthumous recipient of the nations’s highest honor – the Congressional Medal of Honor – for his heroism in combat.
Jesus Christ tells us he is the Shepard, and the good Shepard lays down his life for his sheep. Fr. Vincent volunteered to be with the Marines in Vietnam, so that he could “suffer with” the young Marines as they faced death each day in the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam. And when it came time to lay down his life for the lives of the young men he served, he said “Send me Lord,” and was killed while trying to shield a wounded Marine from enemy fire.
To the surprise of some his Marynoll bothers, the earthy Marines adopted this somewhat urbane and elegant Marynoll priest who’d found the dirty and unsophisticated living conditions of the Taiwanese mountains towns he served in as a missionary, to be a challenge.
Yet Fr. Vincent gave himself so completely to the combat Marines that he became known as the “Grunt Padre”, which is also the name of a fine biography of Fr. Capodanno by Fr. Daniel Mode.
Pray to Fr. Vincent and for Fr. Vincent to become a Saint. We need his intercession so that we can become more faithful Catholics, more faithful witnesses to Christ in the public square, as well as Christians who can embrace our Cross, and offer our lives and sufferings for the reparation of sin and the winning of souls.
We pray to Fr. Vincent that his intercession may help us know God’s will in our lives, even if it be surprising, tough or proves startling to those around us. Many friends and colleagues of Fr. Vincent were shocked to learn he sought an opportunity for a commission in the Navy, and then a direct assignment as a Chaplain with the Marines in Vietnam…but God wasn’t surprised… because he called Fr. Vincent to this important mission. And our servant of God said: “Here I am Lord, Send me!”
Fr. Vincent pray for us!
Pray for our troops in combat right now!
Pray that Catholics in America may witness to Christ’s teaching in the public square!
Pray that we never shy away from the crosses in our lives!
Pray for us, Father Vincent, that we may seek to have God’s will become our own!
Oh, great spiritual warrior, pray that we never give up on the battlefield, and that we fight the good fight until the end of our lives, just as you did oh Servant of God.




