(RNS) A Minnesota Catholic priest who was seriously wounded five years ago while serving as a chaplain in Iraq died Saturday (June 20), his archdiocese announced.
The Rev. Tim Vakoc, a retired Army chaplain who was wounded on May 29, 2004, died at a nursing home in New Hope, Mich. He is believed to be the first military chaplain to have died from injuries sustained during the Iraq War.
A Web site on which he welcomed visitors said Vakoc, 49, was wounded on the 12th anniversary of his ordination. He suffered a serious brain injury when a roadside bomb struck his vehicle as he was returning from presiding at a Mass he conducted for soldiers.
“A man of peace, he chose to endure the horror of war in order to bring the peace of Christ to America’s fighting men and women,” said Archbishop John Nienstedt of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, in a statement. “He has been an inspiration to us all and we will miss him.”
Vakoc received a Purple Heart as well as the Bronze Star.
