by Joe Drape
First published 2020
New York Times journalist Joe Drape follows Father Hotze, a Kansas priest, and Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, an Italian canon lawyer, as they work to prove that Father Kapaun deserves sainthood. Their subject is a military chaplain who died in a Korean War prison camp decades earlier. The case depends on two alleged miracles: Avery Gerleman, now a nurse, and Chase Kear, who works in aerospace, both recovered from life threatening conditions after prayers to Father Kapaun. Drape takes readers from Kansas plains to Vatican halls, revealing how the Catholic Church's saint making process operates today. He examines whether faith and science can work together as the Church evaluates medical evidence and testimony. The book shows how two men separated by seventy years both demonstrated faith, how two young athletes experienced what their families believe were miraculous recoveries, and how the Church determines who deserves official recognition as a saint. At a time when the Catholic Church faces scandal and the world confronts a pandemic, this story explores what makes someone worthy of sainthood.
Genres: history, non-fiction, biography-memoir, military-history, christianity, catholic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Italy, Kansas, Korea, Vatican
Period: Korean War
257 pages · Kindle Edition · Grand Central Publishing