On June 2, 2022, a stunning stained glass window, depicting Fr. Ignatius Maternowski, OFM Conv., a friar priest and WWII chaplain with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, was dedicated in Cauquigny Chapel in Normandy, France. Fr. Ignatius was killed during the D-Day invasion in 1944. The window was made possible through your generosity and all of the Companions of St. Anthony.
At the formal dedication three Friars from the Our Lady of the Angels Province – Fr. James McCurry, Fr. Martin Kobos, and Br. Michael Duffy – traveled to France to honor Fr. Ignatius.
In addition to our Friars, Ethan Karalus, Joseph Pivarunas and Luke Nowak, three recent graduates from St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, NY, the same school Fr. Ignatius’ graduated from in 1931, attended the event and a presented a flag, at Fr. Ignatius’ grave site, which had flown over the school for the past year. Later, they laid a wreath in the exact spot where Fr. Ignatius was shot in the back and killed by a German sniper.
Fr. Ignatius was the only U.S. chaplain killed during the D-Day Invasion. A Captain, he parachuted into occupied France and was killed while attempting to negotiate with his German counterpart for protection of the dead and wounded soldiers in his care under the Geneva Conventions. He was just 32 years old.
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