Hundreds of people are expected to attend a vigil and funeral mass for a Kansas priest who served as a U.S. Army Chaplain and died during the Korean War.
The remains of Father Emil Kapaun were identified earlier this year, and they were turned over to his family during a ceremony in Honolulu. Father Kapaun’s casket was brought to Kansas on September 25th for a trip to his hometown of Pilsen. A vigil and rosary Mass was planned for Tuesday evening at Hartman Arena, and the funeral is scheduled Wednesday morning.
The Catholic Diocese of Wichita has given away most of the tickets for the funeral, but it will be livestreamed on the Diocese page on YouTube at 10 a.m.
After the funeral, the casket will be taken to a site near Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Wichita, where it will be placed on a horse-drawn military caisson. A procession will take the caisson east along Central to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where the casket will be interred. Father Kapaun will receive full military honors, a 21-gun salute and the playing of Taps before the casket is carried into the Cathedral. Soldiers from the First Infantry Division at Fort Riley will take part in the events.
