Servant of God Vincent Capodanno’s Courage and Battling Our ACOD Wounds
This portrait by Father Peter Gray is used with the permission and authorization of the Father Capodanno Guild.
[Editor’s Note: On Thursday September 3, 2026, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, Archbishop Broglio will Celebrate the Annual Memorial Mass for Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, Servant of God. The Mass is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on EWTN. We invite you to participate if able. More information can be found online here and here.
Also, we would like to thank Father Daniel L. Mode and The Father Vincent Capodanno Guild for their permission to use the closing prayer, the artwork by Father Peter Gray and for much of the information included in this blog post.]
Two years ago, I began writing this article about Servant of God Father Vincent Capodanno–a Maryknoll priest and posthumous Medal of Honor recipient who served as a Navy Chaplain during the Vietnam War. Born in Staten Island, NY, “The Grunt Padre” may become the first Italian-American saint. Father Capodanno and I have much in common–although I am no saint! For example, we both joined the U.S. Navy later in life out of love for our country.
Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Sapientiae Christianae talks about serving both country and Church, as Fr. Capodanno did:
Now, if the natural law enjoins us to love devotedly and to defend the country in which we had birth, and in which we were brought up, so that every good citizen hesitates not to face death for his native land, very much more is it the urgent duty of Christians to be ever quickened by like feelings toward the Church. [...] We are bound, then, to love dearly the country whence we have received the means of enjoyment this mortal life affords, but we have a much more urgent obligation to love, with ardent love, the Church to which we owe the life of the soul, a life that will endure forever. [1]
Fr. Capodanno and I both left comfortable situations to serve and maybe to have a little adventure, too! In the movie Called & Chosen, Fr Vincent’s widowed mother pleads: “You want to be a priest, be a priest; but why can’t you be a parish priest here at home? Those Maryknolls go all over!” Having an Italian-American mother, too, I believe she said that, even if those were not her exact words.
The courage to leave “relative safety”
Even in answering God’s call to his vocation, Fr. Capodanno declined to remain in the “relative safety” of home. The phrase “left the relative safety” is used in his Medal of Honor citation from volunteering to go forward into battle. [2]
After being ordained as a Maryknoll father in 1958, his first missionary assignment was to Taichung and Miaoli on Formosa (Taiwan). [3] What courage and trust in God Fr. Capodanno had to go! This reminds me of how my friend described his own decision to enter the seminary:
Imagine your friend drives up in a brand new Maserati and says, “hey, wanna go for a ride?” You have no idea where you’ll go or how long you'll be out, but you jump in anyway. Wherever you go, for however long the ride lasts, you know you’re going to love being with your friend and it’s going to be a very cool ride.
Now, imagine Jesus drives up to you in that same Maserati, and asks you if you want to go for a ride. What do you say? How can you refuse?
Jesus’ Maserati pulled up to me when someone suggested I join the Navy Reserve, even though I knew nothing about the military. I had major “trust issues” as my parents had recently emerged from a prolonged divorce. I was scared of the unknown, but I wanted to be part of something lasting, cohesive, and bigger than myself. This was no surprise, given that my family was none of those things anymore.
The events of 9/11 occurred right after I was commissioned as a Navy officer. I met my husband while on active duty, and I went from single, to married, to mom in less than a year–talk about accelerating to be part of something bigger than myself! The ride was not always smooth, but it has been very cool, and I have no regrets about jumping in.
Father Capodanno himself said it best, “God has given us life that we should live it fully, live it completely, live it happily.” [4]
“No Greater Love…”
Back to Father Capodanno’s story: the Vietnam war was beginning and he pressed the Maryknolls to become a Navy Chaplain. Again, he “left the relative safety” of his post as an English teacher in a Maryknoll high school in Hong Kong to risk his life to minister to U.S. troops in Vietnam.
Rev. William Richter, MM, a fellow seminarian and close friend of Fr. Capodanno, stated, “He is an unforgettable example to me of someone who followed the call to serve, wherever it might eventually lead him, a call that refused to go away.” [5]
The Guild says about this time:
He lived as his flock lived and suffered as they suffered, never considering the costs to himself. He was an ideal model of perseverance, obedience, fortitude, faith, and selflessness. In a word, Father Capodanno exemplified charity and the call to love God above all things and to love your neighbor as yourself. [6]
In The Grunt Padre, Father Daniel L. Mode writes:
Though Father Vincent would never pick up a gun or in any way commit an act of aggression he was nonetheless engaged in warfare. His was a spiritual battle: to stand up and witness to the Gospel even when evil and despair seemed to have the upper hand. His presence on the field, in the front lines, where he was needed most, gave the stamp of authenticity to what he believed and lived. This example was not wasted or lost on the Marines with whom he served. [7]
On September 4, 1967, during Operation Swift in the Que Son Valley of Vietnam, Fr. Capodanno—embedded with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines—made the ultimate sacrifice ministering to a fallen soldier. Despite being wounded multiple times by mortar fragments that shrapneled his arms and legs and nearly severed his right hand, the "Grunt Padre" refused medical evacuation. Instead, he raced off to where his men were through North Vietnamese Army machine-gun fire to drag wounded Marines to safety, administer medical aid, and give Last Rites. His actions on the battlefield saved the lives of at least sixteen Marines. In doing this, he obeyed Jesus’ commandment, to “love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15: 13-14)
Not all wounds are from the battlefield
So why did it take me over two years to finish this blog article (and I have written four other articles in that time)? After I wrote what you have read so far, the LGW Editor asked me to expand on the idea of having courage to look at our own ACOD wounds and how maybe dealing with them is a spiritual battle of its own. I thought about this for months and later outright avoided it because it was too hard to consider, much less write about it.
Instead of sitting quietly with Jesus to ponder our Editor’s question, I got to work organizing a major Fr. Capodanno event. This epic event involved The Father Capodanno Guild, several local Italian heritage clubs and Knights of Columbus Councils (yes, plural!). Weeks, then months went by just to talk to our Pastor’s assistant to schedule the event. Impatient, I contrived a meeting with our Pastor to ‘pitch’ a Fr. Capodanno event as if Monsignor was a Hollywood producer for a major motion picture.
Monsignor listened, then gently said, “It’s a wonderful idea, but there’s no time on the calendar.” I kept trying to convince him. He then said, “You have great love for Fr. Capodanno, don’t you?” “Yes!” I thought my enthusiasm would be the tipping point he needed and I would get my way. In a tone I imagine Jesus would have, Monsignor replied, “But there’s no time.” It was like hearing Him say, “Martha, Martha, you are busy with so many things…” (Cf. Luke 10:41) My busyness was more about me than Fr. Capodanno and I had not chosen the better part.
I did not agree with Jesus on this until recently when I asked Him in prayer:
Jesus, I don’t understand. I was doing this all for YOU! Out of obvious love for You and Fr. Capodanno’s Cause for Sainthood. I did all this work, and it didn’t work! Why?
Eventually, I heard Him say to me, kindly, “My love, I am delighted with all of your work. I am delighted with YOU! Yet, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If I wanted a Fr. Capodanno event at your parish, don’t you think it would have happened?”
Jesus had me on that one. What I understood Him saying was that if He wills what we are doing, He will put His grace on it and allow His graces to flow through it. When it is not there, sometimes He is trying to tell us that “the better part” is to stop doing, and just be with Him. Accept Him loving you because of who you are—His beloved Child—rather than for what you do.
I did not need to perform to be loved and accepted by Him—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I cried when I realized this. Being still and trusting Him to love me unconditionally was not something I did easily. Being a busy high-achiever was the key to enduring my chaotic home. I did almost every activity I could to get out of our house. I would come home exhausted and collapse into bed to avoid hearing my parents’ arguing. An added bonus was believing I could earn my parents' love with the trappings of kid-success. It did not work and still does not today as an adult.
Self-reliance and avoidance strategies we needed to survive emotionally as a child in a dysfunctional family often do not serve us well as adults. I was staying busy to avoid looking at the source of my wounds rather than be still and ask Christ to heal them. “The better part” would have been to sit quietly with Jesus and listen to Him. This takes courage.
Of course this kind of courage is not the same as Fr. Capodanno’s when he laid down his life for his friends on the battlefield. But it takes courage nevertheless, to deal with our ACOD wounds, among others. These are the spiritual battles we may need to fight every day. Fr.Capodanno himself wrote in a letter to a newly widowed friend, “To remain faithful, patient and hopeful in times of great suffering is truly the test of our love of God and trust in Him as our Father.” [8] A quote, opening a chapter in Fr. Mode’s book, sums up my thoughts on where our courage will come from when we face whatever battles we face.
“Saving the world has never been an easy task. It was not easy for the Son of God. It was not easy for His Apostles. But He is with us. And that brings us back to the confidence of our beginning. Under such a leader, is there any limit to what soldiers may do, soldiers full of zeal and resolution, trained in His methods?” [9]
Servant of God, Vincent Capodanno, faithful to both your nation and to the Church, Pray for Us!
Endnotes:
Pope Leo XIII. (1890, January 10). Sapientiae Christianae. https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_10011890_sapientiae-christianae.html
N.A. (n.d.). Vincent Robert Capodanno | Vietnam War | U.S. Navy | Medal of Honor Recipient. Congressional Medal of Honor Society. https://www.cmohs.org/recipients/vincent-r-capodanno
DiGiovanni, S. M. (2018). Armed with faith : the life of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM. Prepared by the Historical Commission of the Cause for Canonization. P. 23
N.A. (2026, April 6). Novena for father Vincent’s cause. The Father Vincent Capodanno Guild. https://www.capodannoguild.org/novena/
N.A. (2026, April 6). Novena for father Vincent’s cause. The Father Vincent Capodanno Guild. https://www.capodannoguild.org/novena/
N.A. (2024, September 19). Importance of father Capodanno’s cause for canonization. The Father Vincent Capodanno Guild. https://www.capodannoguild.org/cause-for-canonization/
Mode, D. L. (2008). The Grunt Padre: Father Vincent Robert Capodanno, Vietnam, 1966-1967. CMJ Marian Publishers. p. 116-117
N.A. (2026, April 6). Novena for father Vincent’s cause. The Father Vincent Capodanno Guild. https://www.capodannoguild.org/novena/
Mode, D. L. (2008). The Grunt Padre: Father Vincent Robert Capodanno, Vietnam, 1966-1967. CMJ Marian Publishers. p. 59
Prayer to Obtain a Favor Through the Intercession of Servant of God Father Vincent R. Capodanno, M.M. by Father Daniel Mode
May God who has offered healing and strength through the hands of His only Son, Our Lord, and through Christ’s many servants, grant me the favor of His healing hand through the intercession of His servant, Father Vincent Capodanno, priest, missionary, and chaplain, who always sought to heal and comfort the wounded and dying on the field of battle. May I be granted this request on my own field of battle I pray in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
(The above prayer was found on the Capodanno Guild website here.)
About the Author:
Eudora Jayne is a pseudonym and means “good gift” and “God is gracious.”
Reflection Questions for Small Groups or Individuals:
What battles do you face? How have you asked Him to give you courage to fight them?
When has “Jesus’ Maserati” driven up to you in your life? Did you jump in? Why? Why not?
What virtues of Fr. Capodanno inspired you after reading this article? What is one thing you can ask of Fr. Capodanno, by his intercession, to help you navigate your own spiritual battlefield?
The author talks about using avoidance, self-reliance, and “busy-ness” as a way to cope with her pain. What strategies have you used to cope with your ACOD wound? How have these strategies worked for you as an adult? If they have not helped, when did you realize this? How have you asked Jesus to help you choose ‘the better part’ instead?
Bonus Material:
Homily: The Chaplain Who Ran Toward Fire: Fr. Vincent Capodanno’s Final Hours
Movie: Called and Chosen
Available on demand through EWTN
Shane & Shane’s song You've Already Won
To remind us that we are not alone in the midst of our battles.
Please consider offering a decade of the rosary for our fellow ACODS in the Armed Forces, especially those currently in active duty, and the chaplains who minister to them, that they too may be God’s vessel of comfort and hope to His men who are suffering, doubtful, and afraid.