Military Chaplains

A year or two ago there was a conversation either in this group or the Catholic Tradition group about the Roman Catholic Fr Emil Joseph Kapaun who served as a US military chaplain in both World War II and the Korean War, and who is now on the path to canonisation as a saint (Wikipedia). He died in a POW camp and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Korea.

I thought of him today when I saw this YouTube video about a British Anglican military chaplain from World War I, Rev Theodore Hardy, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, as well as the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order, making him one of the most decorated non-combatants of that war. He was wounded in action when again trying to tend to the wounded and died a week later in Rouen, France, on 18 October 1918, two days before his 55th birthday and less than a month before the end of the war (Wikipedia).

Congratulations on a good post. I presume you are very sad that you haven't heard more about Rev Hardy over the years. Could you comment on Anglican procedures to recognize and celebrate sanctity? Are there still Christians in England, other than a few Catholics?
By what seems to me to be a very Amazing Coincidence, I found a prayer card for Fr Emil in a book of mine and cannot recall how or when I got it. It refers to him as "Servant of God," which may mean he has been beatified. I regret that I don't know this for certain. I'm grateful for your motivation for me to learn more. There is a Father Kapaun Guild in Wichita, KS a web site; Fr Kapaun.org and email Fatherkapaun@CatholicDioceseOfWichita.org.

>2 eschator83:

Thanks. Yes, Fr Emil has been declared a Servant of God, which is the first step on the road to formal sainthood, followed by beatification and then canonisation.

I don't know anything about the Anglican procedures for recognising sanctity, but you've piqued my interest and I will ask one of my Anglican friends. They certainly recognise saints. Last month I was in UK and visited the fine cathedral of St Alban's, the shrine of Britain's first saint and martyr. Many of their saints would be ones that they inherited from the Catholic Church, but I'll be interested to find out how they've created their own since then, for example the 23 Anglican Ugandan martyrs who died alongside their 22 Catholic colleagues.

Yes, there are still Christians in England (and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but the numbers have declined. There's a thread here in this group on the topic. Last month, as well as attending Catholic Sunday and weekday masses and a baptism, I dined with two retired Anglican priests, and accompanied a friend to an Anglican Sunday mass in a small rural church which was packed, largely I think due to the outstanding vicar who was openly gay and ran a very inclusive parish. I had a little chat with him after mass. Interesting chap. Reminds me of my 2022 visit to UK when I was staying with a niece who is not religious. On Sunday morning I heard church bells ringing and followed the sound to a small Anglican church where mass was just beginning. Afterwards the priest greeted me, as a visitor to his parish. When I told him I was a Catholic missionary visiting from Africa, his warm response was that it was an honour for his parish to welcome a Catholic missionary. The ecumenical spirit is still alive and well.

Edited to add: A swift response from a retired Anglican priest who is an old university friend of mine.

There isn't a formal canonisation process. Individual churches in the Anglican Communion prepare their own liturgical calendar and can include commemorations of people whose holy lives are an inspiration, though normally not until at least 50 years after their death. We had a recent fuss in the CofE when Bishop George Bell of Chichester, who opposed the bombing of German cities and was much revered as a peacemaker, was posthumously accused of child abuse and there was discussion of what to do about the fact that that he was honoured in the English calendar. Thankfully the accusations turned out to be unfounded. But it highlighted the danger of rushing to judgment (he died in 1958 and was included in the 2000 liturgical revision).

We honour the Anglican and RC martyrs of Uganda and the Reformation martyrs on all sides. Also Oscar Romero, Charles de Foucauld, Bonhoeffer (a Lutheran) and other non-Anglicans. The big difference is there is no declaration of sanctity, no cult, no raising to the altars, just the permission (left to the discretion of clergy) to celebrate the person's example with liturgical provision on their day. Invocation of the saints is pretty rare. Some churches have Marian devotions and during eucharists at the abbey shrine of St Alban we ask Alban to pray for us. But it's not a feature of most people's practice.

I should add that the New Testament saints all have "red letter days" which means a major festival, only displaced by a Sunday or other big feast. We are encouraged to look into our local and national saints. So we celebrate Olaudah Equiano and Mary Seacole for their part in British Black History.

Maybe there are LT Anglicans/Episopalians who would like to add (or disagree)?

A few more random reflections from the internet on military chaplains.

One of the most famous chaplains was the saintly Irish Jesuit Fr William Doyle, who on the day of his death during the Battle of Passchendaele (16 August 1917) was seen hurrying ‘all day hither and thither over the battlefield like an angel of mercy'. (Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales)

Drawing on examples from history, such as Padre Studdert Kennedy, World War I's famous "Woodbine Willie", and Chaplain Selwyn Thorne, who dropped into Arnhem by glider, Lieutenant General Borton also referred to his own experience to demonstrate the important part padres play in the armed forces. "I well recall in Afghanistan being particularly worried about one of my companies who were isolated and having a hard time," he said. "Instead of a Headquarters officer, I decided to send the padre down to look after them; and he rallied them wonderfully, not only with spiritual and moral sustenance, but with real leadership too. "Like ammunition, commanders on operations always need more padres." Lieutenant General Borton said he has mostly served with Church of Scotland chaplains. (Church of Scotland)

“The night was cold and black and the ears of the men were still ringing from the sudden explosion of the torpedo,” the American Weekly magazine wrote about the frantic morning hours of Feb. 3, 1943. “Men and officers of the army and merchant marine milled around the slanting deck of the S.S. Dorchester, terrified and confused. Then the chaplains took over.” Four US Army chaplains emerged through the thick black smoke and attempted to organize the disoriented service members, civilians, and merchant marines... Lt. George L. Fox, a World War I veteran of the Western Front who was awarded the Silver Star for rescuing the life of a wounded soldier during a poison gas attack, took charge. The Methodist minister was joined by the Dutch Reformed Church in America Rev. Clark V. Poling, Reform Rabbi Alexander D. Goode, and Father John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest... Once topside the chaplains opened a storage locker and handed out life jackets and life belts. When their supply ran out, they took their own life jackets off, instructing four frightened men to put them on instead... (Coffee Or Die)

The Chaplain Who Went Over the Top With His Soldiers... {Anglican} Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy was one of the most famous army chaplains of the First World War, and his wartime experiences shaped his ministry and writing in the inter war years... The distribution of cigarettes at Rouen might have been the genesis of his nickname “Woodbine Willie”... 1917 found him at Messines where he won the Military Cross... (Casemate UK)

Over 5,000 Army Chaplains served in World War 1. Most received little or no training and although they were often ill-prepared for the situations in which they found themselves, they brought comfort and compassion. This community draws together their amazing life stories. (Imperial War Museum)

Only five Catholic priests have received this highest American military honor. Two of them are in the process of being considered for the highest honor recognized in Catholicism: becoming a canonized saint. They are Vincent Capodanno, a Navy chaplain killed in Vietnam while assigned to a Marine unit in 1967, and Emil Kapaun, an Army chaplain who died in a prison camp during the Korean War in 1951 – and whose remains were recently identified by the Pentagon... (The Conversation)

The Fighting Rabbis: A History of Jewish Military Chaplains, 1860-1945 (Loyola University)

Who was Woodbine Willie? (YouTube)