WASHINGTON, DC — The annual Memorial Mass for Father Vincent R. Capodanno, MM, CHC, LT, USN, Servant of God, will take place at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Avenue, Northeast, Washington, D.C. 20017. 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 (1929-1967), a U.S. Navy Chaplain killed in Vietnam at the age of 38 on September 4, 1967—Labor Day in America—as he ministered to embattled U.S. Marines in South Vietnam’s Quế Sơn Valley, a strategically-important river basin. Posthumously, in 1969, for his uncommon valor, Father Capodanno received the Nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. In 2006, the Catholic Church officially proclaimed Father Capodanno a “Servant of God,” thus formally initiating his Cause for Canonization. The Cause remains under review at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The same week of the Sept. 4 Mass, EWTN will, on three occasions, re-broadcast its 90-minute docudrama on Father Capodanno, Called and Chosen. The film will appear on EWTN on the following dates, all times Eastern (ET):
- Sept. 2 at 10:30 a.m.
- Sept. 4 at 3:30 p.m.
- Sept. 5 at 5:00 a.m.
Called and Chosen traces Father Capodanno’s life and faith journey from his birth to a large family of Italian immigrants on Staten Island, NY, through his priestly vocation as a Maryknoll missionary, serving in Taiwan and Hong Kong, before joining the Navy as a chaplain, to his ultimate sacrifice in battle, putting himself in harm’s way, unarmed, during Operation Swift, a bold mission to rescue a company of fellow Marines under ambush by the North Vietnamese Army.
All are invited to attend the Memorial Mass for Father Vincent Capodanno on the 58th anniversary of the day he shed blood on a killing field for those to whom he ministered in service to God and Country, living out the true meaning of Christ’s message in John 15:13—“No greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Media coverage is welcome.
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.
The Father Vincent Capodanno Guild is the one and only official organization established to promote the Cause for Canonization of Father Capodanno. For more information, visit www.CapodannoGuild.org.
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