The priest’s tireless ministry, marked by constant danger to his life, culminated in a prisoner of war camp at Pyoktong, North Korea, where he blessed his communist captors before dying of pneumonia and a blood clot in 1951 at age 35. His cause for canonization was opened in 1993, giving him the title “Servant of God.”

The Catholic Diocese of Wichita announced on Monday that Father Emil Kapaun has been named “venerable.” This is a title given to a person in the Catholic Church who is considered to have lived a heroic life.