by Adam Mitchell | Sep 6, 2017 | Vocations - Blog
Vincent Capodanno was born on February 13th, 1929, in Staten Island, New York. After attending a year at Fordham University, young Vincent Capodanno entered the Maryknoll seminary in 1949, and was ordained in 1958. After ordination, Father Capodanno was assigned to work with aboriginal Taiwanese in the mountains of Taiwan where he served in a parish and later in a school. After seven years, Father Capodanno returned to the United States for leave and then was assigned to a Maryknoll school in Hong Kong.
More…
Looking for a different challenge, Father Capodanno requested a new assignment–as a United States Navy Chaplain serving with the U.S. Marines. After finishing officer candidate’s school, Father Capodanno reported to the 7th Marines, in Vietnam, in 1966.
When his tour was complete, he requested an extension, served in the naval hospital and then reported to the 5th Marines. He gained a reputation for always being there–for always taking care of his Marines.
On September 4th, 1967 , in the Thang Binh District of the Que-Son Valley, elements of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines found the large North Vietnamese Unit, approx. 2500 men, near the village of Dong Son. Operation Swift was underway. The out-numbered and disorganized Company D was in need of reinforcements. By 9:14 am, twenty-six Marines were confirmed dead. The situation was in doubt and another Company of Marines was committed to the battle. At 9:25 am, the 1st Battalion 5th Marine Commander requested assistance of two company’s of the 3rd Battalion 5th Marines, “M”and “K” Company.During those early hours, Chaplain Capodanno received word of the battle taking place. He sat in on the morning briefing at the 3rd Battalion’s Combat Operations Center. He took notes and listened to the radio reports coming in. As the elements of Company “M” and “K” prepared to load the helicopters. “Fr.Vince” requested to go with them. His Marines needed him. “It’s not going to be easy” he stated. As Company “M” approached the small village of Chau Lam, the North Vietnamese opened up on the 2nd Platoon, which was caught on a small knoll, out in the open. The fighting was fierce, hand to hand at times, and the platoon was in danger of being overrun. Father Capodanno went among the wounded and dying, giving last rites and taking care of his Marines. Wounded once in the face and suffering another wound that almost severed his hand, Father Capodanno moved to help a wounded corpsman only yards from an enemy machinegun. Father Capodanno died taking care of one of his men. On December 27, 1968, then Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius notified the Capodanno family that Fr. Vincent would posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor in recognition of his selfless sacrifice. The offical ceremony was held January 7, 1969. On May 21, 2006, thirty-nine years after his death on the battlefield of Vietnam, Capodanno was publicly declared Servant of God, the first step towards canonization. This year, Maryknoll celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of Father Capodanno’s death on September 4, 2017.
Father Capodanno’s inspiration and dedication to “his” Marines goes much further. His story continues even today.
by Adam Mitchell | Sep 5, 2017 | Vocations - Blog
The Maryknoll building seems to have an envelope of quiet majesty about it. Looking at the building from the front steps, one gets a sense of the dedication of the many souls that have toiled for God’s mission over the decades. It is a testament of God’s continuing reward on the unwavering resolve of Fr. James Walsh and Fr. Thomas Price. As part of my formation program, I have spent three months living here at the Knoll.I travelled to Maryknoll from Chicago in the middle of May, 2017. These past few months have been enriching in a variety of ways.
More…
I have encountered the spirituality of Maryknoll as it is expressed by Maryknollers who have spent decades overseas. Towards this end, the dining hall at the Knoll has been an important place. I recall many conversations on a variety of topics. A few particularly polemical ones with a very amiable Maryknoller served to broaden my perspective on mission.
Through innumerable anecdotes offered by seasoned missioners, I grew in my appreciation of the history of Maryknoll. The love for mission at the Knoll is broad and deep. Though advanced in years, the zeal and zest for all things missionary among the men I met is evident. There is an enduring love for the people among whom the missioners worked. I find this admirable.I got to visit with Maryknollers living in Mission St. Teresa’s. It was wonderful meeting men like Fr. Art Willie whom I had heard about before beginning the formation program. Eager to share their mission stories with me, I could see why it is said that ‘old is gold’. God willing, I will emulate the generosity and patience I have witnessed at Mission St. Teresa’s. This is both in the senior missioners and their caretakers.The story of Maryknoll is embedded in all that one encounters here at the Knoll. From the buildings to the people who have worked here since the early beginnings of the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America. From these, I once again got to appreciate the immense gift that mission is. Sites and sights at Maryknoll contribute to an appreciation of the single-minded zeal that contributed to the furthering of God’s presence and accompaniment in the universal Church.There were many communal events during these past few months. Beginning with an ordination ceremony in the month of May, I had the joy of participating in the numerous activities here at the Knoll. Foundation day on June 29th, with accompanying Jubilee celebrations, was an opportune moment to witness God’s faithfulness to Maryknoll. These activities and the other numerous encounters I have had here at the Knoll complement my formation program in Chicago. Visiting the Knoll has served to deepen my understanding of Maryknoll’s history as well as share in a glimpse of its future.
by Adam Mitchell | May 23, 2017 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - New Members
Father Peter Latouf admits that the appeal of the priesthood was seeded in him growing up in the Maronite Catholic Church, an Eastern-rite church in communion with the Vatican.
According to him, the Mass, the psalms, the liturgy of the hours are appealing to him because others are doing this as well and his prayer is joining in the universal Church’s prayer.
Father Peter was completing his bachelor’s degree in psychology and international studies in Wayne State University in his hometown of Detroit but he needed three semesters of a foreign language. He chose Mandarin Chinese, just because it wasn’t what everyone else was doing.
After three semesters of Mandarin, he spent the summer of 2004 in China on a school trip. He wanted to go back as soon as he left but he wanted to go back having the church element in it. Having been raised in a “very strong Catholic” family, he started asking priests in Detroit how he might do mission work in China and they directed him to Maryknoll.
Father Peter Latouf with Taiwanese children
With Mandarin studies under his belt, plus a master’s in education from Wayne State as well, he was assigned to overseas training in Taiwan, where he gained pastoral experience working with the indigenous Bunun people in a Maryknoll parish in the mountains.
He was given a chance to travel to North Korea with Maryknoll Father Gerard Hammond who works with patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. He tried to prepare himself mentally for the trip, but found the experience nothing like he expected.
The two experiences—helping desperately sick people in North Korea and working with indigenous Taiwanese—sum up mission for Father Latouf. On the one hand, it’s finding reality worse than the “sanitized version” we expect to see, he says, and on the other “there’s a spirit and there’s a knowledge that people have and I think it’s very easy to underestimate that as well.”
Father Latouf celebrated his first Mass at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Chapel of the Maryknoll Society on Sunday, May 21, and then returned home to celebrated Mass in his parish of St. Sharbel Church in Sterling Heights, MI on June 17.
by Adam Mitchell | May 23, 2017 | Vocations - Blog, Vocations - New Members
Father Daniel Siwoo Kim says his faith was first nourished by his parents and strengthened at his home parish, St. Thomas Korean Catholic Center in the Diocese of Orange, California.
More…
After earning his bachelor’s degree in philosophy, Father Kim joined Maryknoll as a seminarian in 2009, when he said he felt like it was the right thing to do.
Father Kim was seeking concrete direction for his life while he was in college. In 2005 he took a year off and went on a pilgrimage to Europe. There, he witnessed the murder of Brother Roger Schutz who founded the Taizé ecumenical monastic community. That moment brought him to explore his vocation in a deeper way.
He stayed in Europe for a semester to study Scripture at a university in Nemi, Italy. Soon after, he met Maryknoll Father Alfonso Kim, who told him about the missionary society. He entered Maryknoll during August 2009, soon after graduation from California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
Fathers Daniel Kim and Alfonso Kim
Father Kim was ordained a deacon on August 29, 2015 at his home parish of St. Thomas Korean Catholic Center in Anaheim, California. He earned a master’s of divinity degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago during 2016.
He has learned about and experienced his faith during many contemplative opportunities that have included the study of the Mandarin language in Taiwan and China during his overseas mission training program. He also is fluent in Korean.
“I cannot contain my excitement,” added Father Kim, “to return to Asia and serve the people of God there as a missionary priest.”
Father Kim celebrated his first Mass at the Chapel of the Annunciation of the Maryknoll Sisters on Sunday, May 21, and then returned home to celebrate Mass in his parish of St. Thomas Korean Catholic Center in Anaheim, CA on May 28.
