Newman will hold its third annual Veterans Day Mass on Friday, Nov. 11 at 12:05 p.m. in St. John’s Chapel. The Mass will honor those who have served in the United States armed forces.
University Chaplain Father John Fogliasso will give a special blessing for all current veterans. The Mass will conclude with the prayer for Father Kapaun, who was born in Kansas, served in World War II and the Korean War, declared a Servant of God by Pope John Paul II — the first step toward canonization — and in 2013 was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama.
Following the Mass, the Student Government Association and Campus Ministry will host a light lunch in the Heritage Room located across the hall from St. John’s Chapel.
Veterans Day, known as Armistice Day until 1954, originally commemorated the soldiers of World War I. After World War II and the Korean War, a bill was introduced by Kansas Representative Edward Rees for Armistice Day to be changed to Veterans Day.
According to the Federal Register, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, also from Kansas, issued this Presidential proclamation: “On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”
