Father Timothy Vakoc, a Minnesota Army chaplain who was seriously injured in Iraq in 2004, died Saturday at age 49.
Father Vakoc had lost an eye and sustained brain damage when a roadside bomb exploded near his Humvee on May 29, 2004, as he was returning to his barracks after celebrating Mass for U.S. soldiers.
When I was a Boy Scout working on getting my Ad Altare Dei emblem in 1992-1993, I met Fr. Vakoc a few times, as he was stationed at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in St. Anthony, MN, where I had been in Cub Scouts and where the AAD classes were held. Himself an Eagle Scout and earner of the AAD award, he helped out with the classes, especially those focusing on the sacrament of Holy Orders.
I can't say I knew him well, but from the interactions I had with him, it was clear he had a great love for Jesus Christ and His Church and his priestly vocation.
Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei.
Requiescat in pace. Amen.
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