As a young chaplain candidate in the U.S. Navy in the late 1980s, the Rev. Daniel L. Mode became captivated by the story of a Roman Catholic priest who was killed at age 38 while ministering to U.S. Marines in 1967. Over the next several years, Father Mode immersed himself in the life of the Rev. Vincent R. Capodanno, a Maryknoll missionary from Staten Island, N.Y., who spent 16 months traveling from battlefield to battlefield in Vietnam. What began as Father Mode’s master’s thesis at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., turned into a book called “The Grunt Padre,” published in 2000.
Working with an organization called Catholics in the Military, Father Mode used the research in his book to initiate a “cause for canonization” application to Rome. In 2006, Father Capodanno was declared a “Servant of God,” the first step in the journey to sainthood. The Vatican named Father Mode as “postulator,” or promoter of the cause, and a tribunal was established to interview witnesses to Father Capodanno’s life. One authenticated miracle will qualify the Vietnam War chaplain for beatification; a second for sainthood.
Father Mode, who is 42, does not advocate for his hero’s holiness from behind a desk in a diocesan headquarters somewhere. Rather, he is following Father Capodanno’s example, serving as a Navy chaplain in a war zone. He has been on active duty for three years now, including 20 months in Afghanistan.
As a former Army Chaplain, I can say that many blessings were received as well as given when serving in the field. I didn’t have combat duty but prepared for it regularly. Even in preparation, the gift of a spiritual figure was obvious. Hats off, Saint or not, to those who serve the military with the reminder of the Supreme Commander of Life.