Grand Rapids, Mich., May 16, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Kevin Britt, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids has died at the age of 59. Co-workers found Britt at his home Sunday morning after they became worried when he did not return several phone calls. He apparently died sometime during the weekend, said Ned McGrath, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Britt had canceled all his appointments last week because he hadn't been feeling well.
A Detroit native, Britt attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, earned a master's degree in religious studies from the University of Detroit, and a master of divinity degree from St. John's Provincial Seminary in Plymouth. He also served as Personal Secretary to Cardinal Edmund Szoka at the Vatican and to the Staff of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See. He then spent nearly a decade as an auxiliary bishop in Detroit before going to Grand Rapids.
He was named coadjutor bishop in Grand Rapids in 2002, where he served with the previous bishop, Robert Rose. In October 2003, Britt took full control of the diocese, which has 102 parishes and represents more than 160,000 Catholics in an 11-county area in southwest Michigan.