Bishop Britt's 'enthusiasm for people' recalled at funeral Mass

Published: 2004-05-25

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (CNS) -- More than 1,000 people filled the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Grand Rapids for the May 21 funeral Mass for Bishop Kevin M. Britt, whose May 15 death at age 59 ended his 15-month episcopal ministry in the Diocese of Grand Rapids. The funeral was not long under way when a tremendous rainstorm broke out, prompting homilist Father Timothy Babcock to remark that "significant days in Bishop Britt's life are associated with storms." He recalled that snowstorms also had complicated his longtime friend's episcopal ordination in Detroit in 1994 and his welcome in Grand Rapids last year. Father Babcock, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Monroe, said Bishop Britt's ministry was marked by dedication to the church and an engaging sense of humor. "Bishop Britt had an enthusiasm for life, but he also had an enthusiasm for people," he said. He noted the late bishop's commitment to promoting vocations, his dedication to ministry to young people, and his service as episcopal moderator of the Knights of Malta and the Order of the Alhambra, a Catholic fraternal order that assists the mentally retarded.

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