 WASHINGTON, DC –Vice Admiral P. Stephen Stanley, USN (Ret.), has been appointed Chairman of the governing board of the Father Vincent Capodanno Guild. The Guild is a private Catholic Church association and not-for-profit corporation established in 2013 to promote the Cause for Canonization of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, Servant of God. Father Capodanno, a U.S. Navy chaplain lieutenant, was killed in action during the Vietnam War while anointing and aiding U.S. Marines in combat against the North Vietnamese army. The Maryknoll priest from Staten Island, NY, posthumously received the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. The Holy See’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints is now considering his Cause. Should the Congregation deem Father Capodanno’s Cause worthy to proceed with canonization, he will next be beatified and then declared a saint. Vice Adm. Stanley was appointed by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio, J.C.D., Archbishop for the Military Services, USA. He replaces Captain George J. Phillips, USMC (Ret.), who stepped down in September after six years of service. Both Vice Adm. Stanley and Capt. Phillips have served on the seven-member board since Archbishop Broglio announced formation of the body at the annual Memorial Mass for Father Capodanno on Sept. 2, 2013. His Excellency announced Capt. Phillips’ retirement at this year’s Memorial Mass on Sept. 4, the 52nd anniversary of Father Capodanno’s death at the age of 38—unarmed—in a volley of enemy gunfire in Vietnam’s Quế Sơn Valley. During Capt. Phillips’ term as Chairman, the Guild conducted an exhaustive inquiry into Father Capodanno’s life and death, and it compiled reports of favors received following intercessory prayers to the slain priest. The Catholic Church ordinarily requires at least two miracles attributed to the intercession of a sainthood candidate for the candidate’s Cause to go forward. In the most recent case, medical tests in 2017 showed the unexplained healing of a Florida woman’s multiple sclerosis following her prayers to Father Capodanno. Originally from Doylestown, Ohio, Vice Adm. P. Stephen Stanley graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering. During his 37-year Navy career he served as a submariner on USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN 619G), Submarine NR-1, USS William H Bates (SSN 680), USS Richard B Russell (SSN 687), Submarine Development Squadron Five and Submarine Group Eight. His shore assignments included time as a financial manager in the Pentagon where he served on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretary of Defense. Following his retirement from the Navy, Vice Adm. Stanley transitioned to the Northrop Grumman Corporation where he served as the Vice President of Cyber and C4 Government Relations until retirement. Vice Adm. Stanley is married to the former Jean Marie Steiner, also from Doylestown, Ohio. The couple has four daughters and twelve grandchildren. |
