The Saint Makers: Inside the Catholic Church and How a War Hero Inspired a Journey of Faith

by Joe Drape

Overview

Part biography of a wartime adventurer, part detective story, and part faith journey, this intriguing book from a New York Times journalist and bestselling author takes us inside the modern-day making of a saint.

The Saint Makers chronicles the unlikely alliance between Father Hotze and Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, a country priest and a cosmopolitan Italian canon lawyer, as the two piece together the life of a long dead Korean War hero and military chaplain and fashion it into a case for eternal divinity. Joe Drape offers a front row seat to the Catholic Church's saint-making machinery—which, in many ways, has changed little in two thousand years-and examines how, or if, faith and science can co-exist.

This rich and unique narrative leads from the plains of Kansas to the opulent halls of the Vatican, through brutal Korean War prison camps, and into the stories of two individuals, Avery Gerleman and Chase Kear, whose lives were threatened by illness and injury and whose family and friends prayed to Father Kapaun, sparking miraculous recoveries in the heart of America. Gerleman is now a nurse, and Kear works as a mechanic in the aerospace industry. Both remain devoted to Father Kapaun, whose opportunity for sainthood relies in their belief and medical charts. At a time when the church has faced severe scandal and damage, and the world is at the mercy of a pandemic, this is an uplifting story about a priest who continues to an example of goodness and faith.

Ultimately, The Saint Makers is the story of a journey of faith—for two priests separated by seventy years, for the two young athletes who were miraculously brought back to life with (or without) the intercession of the divine, as well as for readers—and the author—trying to understand and accept what makes a person truly worthy of the Congregation of Saints in the eyes of the Catholic Church.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316268813
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,019,183
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Joe Drape is an award-winning sportswriter for the New York Times. He is the author of six books, including the New York Times bestsellers Our Boys: A Perfect Season on the Plains with the Smith Center Redmen and American Pharoah: The Untold Story of the Triple Crown Winner's Legendary Rise. His book Black Maestro was the inaugural winner of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. A native of Kansas City and graduate of Rockhurst High School, Drape earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Southern Methodist University. He lives in New York City with his wife and son.

Editorial Reviews

11/30/2020

Sportswriter Drape (American Pharaoh) provides an illuminating exploration of the heroism of Korean War military chaplain Emil Kapaun (1916–1951) and ongoing efforts to canonize him in this meandering history-cum-memoir. Kapaun received a posthumous Medal of Honor for his efforts to look after the troops he was assigned to—even after he was captured by the Chinese. Eventually, an ailing Kapaun, who was viewed by his captors as an ideological threat, was taken away from his fellow POWs and died alone. In 1999, Fr. John Hotze, inspired by Kapaun’s commitment to his faith and to his fellow captives, began amassing evidence in support of Kapaun’s candidacy as a saint. This led, in 2020, to a scheduled discussion of his worthiness that was derailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. As Drape researched Kapaun—and the elaborate processes the Catholic church has for assessing potential saints—his own faith in the power of miracles was bolstered by miraculous medical recoveries, such as that of 12-year-old Avery Gerleman, who Drape believes was saved from mysterious organ failure years ago due to her father’s prayers to Kapaun. Unfortunately, the shifts to Drape’s own experiences, which include an extended account of his Catholic upbringing, tend to distract from Kapaun’s story and the otherwise moving account of courage and faith in the killing fields of Korea. Faith-minded history buffs will best appreciate this. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Drape’s latest is a feel-good account of the campaign to canonize the Rev. Emil Kapaun...The book is at its most thrilling in its tales of the priest’s wartime heroics....Fascinating.”—The New York Times

"Inspiring, and beautifully written, Joe Drape's new book seamlessly combines three fascinating tales: the saga of a Catholic war hero and future saint, the story of how the church 'canonizes' a person (that is, recognizes saints) and the spiritual journey of an initially skeptical author. The Saint Makers is revelatory in truest sense of the word: it reveals Father Kapaun's astounding holiness, the church's dogged pursuit of the truth, and the author's heartfelt quest for a more authentic spiritual life."—James Martin, SJ, author of My Life with the Saints and Learning to Pray

"In a riveting story that moves from a small town in Kansas to the halls of the Vatican, Joe Drape draws back the curtain on one of Catholicism's least-understood processes, the making of a saint. It's a story of spiritual struggle — in prisoner-of-war-camps in Korea, in the lives of modern families praying for miraculous healing, and in the personal pilgrimage of an author alienated by scandals in the church. Drape's narrative is engaging and thought-provoking. With a combination of journalistic skepticism and religious sensitivity, he confronts the question: Why do saints matter today?"
—John Thavis, author of The Vatican Diaries

“A phenomenal book…[Joe Drape] is a fantastic writer….He takes you through this incredible journey of an American war hero who was a Catholic priest who was so brave and patient and peaceful and kind and had so much valor and humanity.”—“Kennedy Saves the World,” Fox News

“Hope and inspiration seem in short supply as this pandemic persists, but a bit of divine intervention seems to burst from Drape’s new book… Resisting hagiography, he investigates the convoluted process of saint-making and the fascinating characters who gather evidence and led the campaign for Father Kapuan’s sainthood. Drape enriches an inquiry into his own faith with a light personal touch, drawing on his Jesuit youth and reflecting the universal draw of Kapaun’s heroism.”—The National Book Review

"Engaging... this profile in sainthood is humane and compelling."—Kirkus Reviews

“An illuminating exploration of the heroism of Korean War military chaplain Emil Kapaun….[A]moving account of courage and faith in the killing fields of Korea.”—Publishers Weekly

“An absorbing story….Drape… thoughtfully explor[es] his complex relationship with his faith, burnished by his research into Fr. Kapaun…. This insightful account will appeal to readers who enjoy stories about faith and war heroics, and those interested in saint making within the Catholic Church.”—Library Journal

"A fascinating look into a world that for centuries has been mostly hidden.... Drape [tells] the story of the saint making process, with detail and drama...[an] extraordinary look into the previously unknown and most holy process of the Catholic Church."—"Feisty Side of Fifty" podcast

"A fantastic read."—KSCJ’s “Having Read That…”

“Joe Drape tells a compelling tale in The Saint Makers. Indeed, the man is a fantastic writer, and his talent is on full display….Here the book will likely prove eye-opening for the average Catholic who is unfamiliar with what it takes to get someone beatified or canonized….Drape is on a pilgrimage. Judging by what he writes here, he is growing in his faith, and his recounting of his journey is compelling, thought-provoking reading.”—National Catholic Register

"A great book."—“The Miracle Hunter” (EWTN Catholic Radio)

“The Saint Makers is both insightful and refreshing….What makes this story unique is the multilayered approach of storytelling in The Saint Makers that makes a complex story accessible to those who have no prior knowledge of Japan, the Korean War, the Catholic Church, or the miracles needed to obtain Sainthood.”—KRPS

From the Publisher

12/01/2020

Sports journalist Drape (The Race for the Triple Crown) has written an absorbing story exploring the process of how a saint is made within the Catholic Church, centered on the cause of Fr. Emil Kapaun, a Kansas-born priest. Sent to Korea as a chaplain, Fr. Kapaun displayed incredible courage under fire, aiding and ministering to Americans on the battlefield and in a Chinese POW camp, where he later died. For his heroic exploits, Fr. Kapaun earned the Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star, and, posthumously, the Medal of Honor. While examining the lengthy and often expensive canonization process, Drape highlights the priests and canon lawyers working closely to establish Kapaun's virtue, holiness, and miracles attributable to Kapaun's intercession, while also shepherding the cause through various Vatican offices. Drape continues by thoughtfully exploring his complex relationship with his faith, burnished by his research into Fr. Kapaun, amid the ongoing abuse scandal while yearning for a deeper and more meaningful spirituality. VERDICT This insightful account will appeal to readers who enjoy stories about faith and war heroics, and those interested in saint making within the Catholic Church.—Chad E. Statler, Westlake Porter P.L., Westlake, OH

Library Journal

2020-10-10
The road to sainthood for a chaplain in the Korean War.

New York Times sportswriter Drape tells the story of Father Emil Kapaun (1916-1951), a Roman Catholic priest from Kansas who, as a chaplain in Korea, displayed remarkable courage under fire and as a POW. Kapaun is now a candidate for sainthood, and the author provides a multilevel exposition of his impressive life, the dedicated individuals advancing his cause for sainthood, the role and process of sainthood in Catholicism, and the author’s own spiritual longings. Drape begins by introducing Father John Hotze, who was charged with the task of gathering information about Kapaun for Rome. Hotze’s quest for records, background, and witnesses leads into the biographical portions of the book, which describe the remarkably pious and mature young Kapaun, his training for the priesthood, and then the story of his heroism in Korea. For his valor, he received numerous awards, including a Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, and posthumous Medal of Honor. Kapaun’s legendary spiritual and moral leadership, especially as a POW, affected the lives of not only the soldiers who served with him, but also the residents of his small Kansas community. The medically unexplained recoveries of two young people—one traumatically injured in a pole-vaulting accident, the other near death due to lung and kidney problems—were attributed by family and friends to Kapaun’s prayers. These miracle stories, in addition to the testimony of a virtuous life provided by Hotze’s research, provide the solid background of the case for Kapaun’s sainthood, a case most recently stalled by the pandemic. At points, the author discusses how Kapaun’s story and the experiences of others have reawakened his own sense of faith and hunger for a deeper spiritual life. Drape attempts to cover so many angles and viewpoints that the narrative is occasionally choppy—but it’s engaging nonetheless.

Though sometimes roughly spliced together, this profile in sainthood is humane and compelling.

Kirkus Reviews