WASHINGTON, DC — The annual Memorial Mass for Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, Servant of God, will take place at 6:30 p.m. ET tonight in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Avenue, Northeast, Washington, DC. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA, will be the principal celebrant and homilist.
Archbishop Broglio celebrates this special Mass each year for the repose of Father Capodanno, a U.S. Navy Chaplain killed in Vietnam at the age of 38 on September 4, 1967—Labor Day in America—as he ministered, unarmed, to embattled U.S. Marines in South Vietnam’s Quế Sơn Valley, a strategically-important river basin. For his uncommon valor Father Capodanno, CHC, LT, USN, posthumously received the Nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, and in May 2006 the Catholic Church officially proclaimed him a Servant of God thus formally initiating his Cause for Canonization.
The Father Vincent Capodanno Guild is the one and only official organization established by Archbishop Broglio to promote the Cause for Canonization of Father Capodanno. For more information, visit www.CapodannoGuild.org.
All are invited to attend the Memorial Mass for Father Vincent Capodanno on the 57th anniversary of the day he laid down his life on a bloody battlefield for those to whom he ministered in service to God and Country, living out the meaning of John 15:13: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Media coverage is welcomed.
There will be open seating, so please plan to arrive early. Military members are encouraged to wear the uniform of the day, and business attire is appropriate for civilians.
