Kevenhoerster was born at
Essen in
North Rhine-Westphalia. At age 11, he immigrated with his family to the
United States, where they settled in
Minneapolis,
Minnesota. After receiving his early education at public and parochial schools, he studied at
St. John's College and the
University of Minnesota. He then served as the assistant to the
master of novices at St. John's. He was
ordained to the
priesthood on June 24, 1896. At the ceremony, Hayes commented, "New York's loss is the Bahamas' gain." In 1940, he attended the annual Catholic Mission Sunday at St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he occupied the seat of honor opposite the Archbishop's throne. On January 15, 1941, the Prefecture Apostolic was elevated to the
Vicariate Apostolic of the Bahama Islands, with Kevenhoerster becoming its first Vicar Apostolic. He spent a total of twenty years in the Bahamas and, during his tenure, the islands' Catholic population rose from 3,200 (1929) to 13,054 (1954). He also established several
convents and a congregation of
nuns, founded St. Augustine's Monastery and College in Nassau, and encouraged the creation of
Boy Scouts and
Clubs in churches. In June 1946, he was named an
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne by
Pope Pius XII on the occasion of the golden jubilee of his priestly ordination. Kevenhoerster experienced fragile health and suffered several
strokes in his final years. He died in Nassau at age 80. ==References==