Registration open for the Kansas Camino

Want to walk the pilgrimage?
For details or to register for the Father Kapaun Pilgrimage visit frkapaun.org or email [email protected]. Those unable to walk the entire pilgrimage are also invited. Those who walk the entire event will walk 22 miles on Thursday, and 13, 16, and 8 on subsequent days. Mass is celebrated daily and there is time for confession. Camp gear is transported for those walking. A bus transports pilgrims to Wichita from Pilsen.

Hundreds of pilgrims will join themselves spiritually with Servant of God Emil Kapaun during a pilgrimage from Thursday, May 30, to Sunday, June 2. Participants are invited to walk 60 miles from the Church of the Resurrection in Wichita to St. John Nepomucene in Pilsen.

Scott Carter, the coordinator of the Father Kapaun Guild, said the four-day annual event, also known as the Kansas Camino, is designed not only to remember a heroic priest who is on the path to sainthood but to help participants focus on their own path to sainthood.

“We had an incredible number of pilgrims from out of state last year – about 20 states,” he said. “It’s a great response to see people from so far away wanting to join us. It’s great to see the mixing of Catholics from the diocese with those from outside of Kansas to honor Father Kapaun.”

In memory of Chaplain Kapaun

Carter said the pilgrims walk on the soil Father Kapaun walked as a native Kansan and in memory of the footsteps he took as a chaplain in Korea and as a prisoner of war.

“The great thing about that is it helps you come to know his personality by entering into life here in the Kansas plains but also what he did in Korea,” he said. “He took his roots here to serve God wherever he was called.”

Last year’s walk was at capacity with nearly 300 taking part, he said. “There are options to join partway through, or just walk part of it.”

Prayer is an integral part of the pilgrimage, Carter said. “We pray together as we journey and bring our prayer intentions along to Father’s home parish where we end with a Mass in Pilsen. We also stop along the way and listen to stories about Father’s life.

“It’s a great opportunity to have great conversations, meet fellow Catholics, pray, and get away from the normal craziness of the world. To slow down and listen to the voice of the Lord.”