John Bernard Kevenhoerster

John Bernard Kevenhoerster, O.S.B. (November 1, 1869 – December 9, 1949) was a German-born prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first Prefect Apostolic (1931–41) and Vicar Apostolic (1941-49) of the Bahama Islands.

Biography 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.