A new biography of Vietnam War hero Father Vincent R. Capodanno is now available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions. Armed with Faith: The Life of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, by the Reverend Monsignor Stephen M. DiGiovanni, H.E.D., explores the life of the U.S. Navy chaplain lieutenant from his Italian-American roots and Catholic upbringing on Staten Island, NY, all the way through his foreign missionary service in East Asia to his heroic death at the age of 37 on a Vietnam battlefield while rushing, unarmed, to the aid of wounded and dying U.S. Marines under ambush.
Monsignor DiGiovanni, who has served as pastor at the Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist in Stamford, CT, for the past 20 years, explained how the book came about in a recent “Pastor’s Corner” message in the church bulletin: “Five years ago, I was assigned the task of heading the official historical commission for Father Capodanno’s cause, and writing the priest’s biography, by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio. As the Archbishop for the Military Services, his work is to provide chaplains and pastoral care to the Catholic service men and women and their families around the globe. It is his competence to have begun and oversee the cause of canonization of one of this country’s greatest Catholic chaplains. Two years ago, the cause was formally opened and Father Capodanno has been declared Servant of God. The Church doesn’t ‘make’ saints. After long study, she solemnly declares whether a person actually led a life of exemplary and heroic virtue in imitation of Our Lord. If the judgment is positive, the Church simply announces that the individual can be termed a ‘saint’ as one enjoying eternity with God who raises up heroic men and women in our lives to remind us of His love and promise of eternity to everyone. Please pray for the success of the cause of Servant of God, Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM.”
A priest of the Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport, CT, Msgr. DiGiovanni is an alumnus of the Pontifical North American College in Rome. He received his doctorate in Church History from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1983. He has served in various parishes, as rector of the diocesan seminary, and as pastor of the Basilica of Saint John in Stamford since 1998. Besides Armed with Faith, Msgr. DiGiovanni is author of numerous other books including Aggiornamento on the Hill Janus: The American College in Rome, 1955-1979; The Second Founder: Bishop Martin J. O’Connor and the Pontifical North American College; and Ignatius: The Life of Ignatius Cardinal Kung Pin-Mei.