Handmade prayer cards honoring eight American servicemen, priests, and a devoted husband and father, all currently under formal investigation by the Catholic Church for sainthood. From a Civil War militiaman to a Vietnam chaplain killed reaching for a wounded man under fire, this collection traces more than a century of American Catholic witness in uniform.
Each card features a full-color icon on the front. On the back: a short biography of the man's life and military service, the current status of his cause for canonization, and a prayer for his intercession. Cards are standard holy card size (2.5" × 4.25"), handmade in Austin, Texas.
The eight men in this collection:
Venerable Nelson Baker — A Civil War militiaman who served through the Gettysburg Campaign and the New York Draft Riots, then came home, built a successful business, and entered the priesthood at twenty-seven. He spent the rest of his life building an entire "City of Charity" outside Buffalo, an orphanage, an infant home, and a basilica, insisting every time it succeeded that Our Lady of Victory, not he, deserved the credit. Declared Venerable in 2011; his cause now awaits a confirmed miracle.
Servant of God Joseph "Ira" Dutton — A Civil War veteran and regimental quartermaster who, after a failed marriage and years of heavy drinking, converted to Catholicism at forty and briefly sought a monk's silence before discovering his true calling was action, not withdrawal. He spent the next forty-four years serving alongside Saint Damien of Molokai in a Hawaiian leper colony, taking no salary, and never once contracting the disease himself.
Servant of God Bernard John Quinn — A WWI Army chaplain gassed in the trenches of France who came home determined to build a parish for Brooklyn's Black Catholics, whom the diocese had largely overlooked. He founded Saint Peter Claver Church and an orphanage for Black children that the Ku Klux Klan burned to the ground twice; he rebuilt it twice, the second time in brick and concrete specifically so it could not be destroyed again.
Servant of God Joseph Verbis Lafleur — A WWII Army Air Corps chaplain who moved through Japanese bombing at Clark Field to reach the wounded rather than take cover, then refused evacuation, telling his commanders his place was with the men. Captured and held nearly two and a half years as a POW, he traded his own eyeglasses to help fellow prisoners and died in 1944 helping other men escape the sinking Japanese prison ship Shinyo Maru after giving up his own chance to get out first.
Servant of God Brother Marinus LaRue — A WWII and Korean War Merchant Marine captain who, given a cargo ship built for twelve passengers, evacuated roughly 14,000 Korean refugees under fire and through mined waters without losing a single life, the voyage still remembered as the "Ship of Miracles." Four years later, at the height of his fame, he quietly left the sea entirely to become a Benedictine monk, spending the next forty-seven years washing dishes and ringing the monastery bell for prayer.
Servant of God Irving "Francis" Houle — A WWII Army veteran of the European campaign who came home, married, raised five children, and spent decades as an ordinary factory plant manager in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. On Good Friday 1993, at sixty-seven, he began bearing the wounds of Christ's Passion every night and spent his final sixteen years praying individually over tens of thousands of pilgrims, always insisting the healing came from God and not from him.
Venerable Emil Kapaun — A United States Army chaplain from a Kansas farm who repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to reach wounded soldiers during the Korean War, then chose capture over abandoning men who could not walk out of the collapsing position at Unsan. In a North Korean POW camp he stole food for starving prisoners, resisted Communist indoctrination at real personal risk, and died in captivity in 1951 after refusing to let fellow prisoners risk themselves protecting him. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013; declared Venerable in 2025.
Servant of God Vincent Capodanno — "The Grunt Padre," a Maryknoll missionary priest turned Navy chaplain who insisted on living in the field alongside the ordinary Marines he served in Vietnam rather than staying near safer command posts. Already wounded and repeatedly refusing medical aid so others could be treated first, he was killed by machine-gun fire in 1967 while rushing to help a wounded corpsman under fire. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Handmade with Prayer and Purpose
These are not mass-produced cards. Each one is individually made, prayed over, and venerated before shipping — a tradition maintained to ensure your cards are not just art pieces, but sacred keepsakes. Made with high-quality photo paper laminated to double thickness, built to last a lifetime, not printed on cardboard like commercial prayer cards.
Details:
Each card includes his biography, the current status of his cause for canonization, and a prayer for his intercession
Suitable for gifting, parish veterans' ministries, military families, home altars, or daily reflection
Handmade to order in Austin, Texas
Why People Love This Collection:
Eight men, Civil War through Vietnam, all currently under formal Church investigation for sainthood
A rare, focused look at specifically American Catholic military holiness
A meaningful gift for veterans, active-duty service members, military chaplains, and their families
Every man's cause is active today — carrying his card is a way to pray for his canonization, not just remember his story
Made with intentional prayer, not automation
Handmade prayer cards honoring eight American servicemen, priests, and a devoted husband and father, all currently under formal investigation by the Catholic Church for sainthood. From a Civil War militiaman to a Vietnam chaplain killed reaching for a wounded man under fire, this collection traces more than a century of American Catholic witness in uniform.
Each card features a full-color icon on the front. On the back: a short biography of the man's life and military service, the current status of his cause for canonization, and a prayer for his intercession. Cards are standard holy card size (2.5" × 4.25"), handmade in Austin, Texas.
The eight men in this collection:
Venerable Nelson Baker — A Civil War militiaman who served through the Gettysburg Campaign and the New York Draft Riots, then came home, built a successful business, and entered the priesthood at twenty-seven. He spent the rest of his life building an entire "City of Charity" outside Buffalo, an orphanage, an infant home, and a basilica, insisting every time it succeeded that Our Lady of Victory, not he, deserved the credit. Declared Venerable in 2011; his cause now awaits a confirmed miracle.
Servant of God Joseph "Ira" Dutton — A Civil War veteran and regimental quartermaster who, after a failed marriage and years of heavy drinking, converted to Catholicism at forty and briefly sought a monk's silence before discovering his true calling was action, not withdrawal. He spent the next forty-four years serving alongside Saint Damien of Molokai in a Hawaiian leper colony, taking no salary, and never once contracting the disease himself.
Servant of God Bernard John Quinn — A WWI Army chaplain gassed in the trenches of France who came home determined to build a parish for Brooklyn's Black Catholics, whom the diocese had largely overlooked. He founded Saint Peter Claver Church and an orphanage for Black children that the Ku Klux Klan burned to the ground twice; he rebuilt it twice, the second time in brick and concrete specifically so it could not be destroyed again.
Servant of God Joseph Verbis Lafleur — A WWII Army Air Corps chaplain who moved through Japanese bombing at Clark Field to reach the wounded rather than take cover, then refused evacuation, telling his commanders his place was with the men. Captured and held nearly two and a half years as a POW, he traded his own eyeglasses to help fellow prisoners and died in 1944 helping other men escape the sinking Japanese prison ship Shinyo Maru after giving up his own chance to get out first.
Servant of God Brother Marinus LaRue — A WWII and Korean War Merchant Marine captain who, given a cargo ship built for twelve passengers, evacuated roughly 14,000 Korean refugees under fire and through mined waters without losing a single life, the voyage still remembered as the "Ship of Miracles." Four years later, at the height of his fame, he quietly left the sea entirely to become a Benedictine monk, spending the next forty-seven years washing dishes and ringing the monastery bell for prayer.
Servant of God Irving "Francis" Houle — A WWII Army veteran of the European campaign who came home, married, raised five children, and spent decades as an ordinary factory plant manager in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. On Good Friday 1993, at sixty-seven, he began bearing the wounds of Christ's Passion every night and spent his final sixteen years praying individually over tens of thousands of pilgrims, always insisting the healing came from God and not from him.
Venerable Emil Kapaun — A United States Army chaplain from a Kansas farm who repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to reach wounded soldiers during the Korean War, then chose capture over abandoning men who could not walk out of the collapsing position at Unsan. In a North Korean POW camp he stole food for starving prisoners, resisted Communist indoctrination at real personal risk, and died in captivity in 1951 after refusing to let fellow prisoners risk themselves protecting him. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2013; declared Venerable in 2025.
Servant of God Vincent Capodanno — "The Grunt Padre," a Maryknoll missionary priest turned Navy chaplain who insisted on living in the field alongside the ordinary Marines he served in Vietnam rather than staying near safer command posts. Already wounded and repeatedly refusing medical aid so others could be treated first, he was killed by machine-gun fire in 1967 while rushing to help a wounded corpsman under fire. Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Handmade with Prayer and Purpose
These are not mass-produced cards. Each one is individually made, prayed over, and venerated before shipping — a tradition maintained to ensure your cards are not just art pieces, but sacred keepsakes. Made with high-quality photo paper laminated to double thickness, built to last a lifetime, not printed on cardboard like commercial prayer cards.
Details:
Each card includes his biography, the current status of his cause for canonization, and a prayer for his intercession
Suitable for gifting, parish veterans' ministries, military families, home altars, or daily reflection
Handmade to order in Austin, Texas
Why People Love This Collection:
Eight men, Civil War through Vietnam, all currently under formal Church investigation for sainthood
A rare, focused look at specifically American Catholic military holiness
A meaningful gift for veterans, active-duty service members, military chaplains, and their families
Every man's cause is active today — carrying his card is a way to pray for his canonization, not just remember his story
Made with intentional prayer, not automation
