Deacon Kevin who was born in the Bevois Valley area of Southampton, joined the Catholic community of St Edmund’s in November 1995 and was received formally into the Catholic Church in 1997.  He has just completed his studies in Rome and was ordained Deacon last year in the Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls in Rome, where the body of Saint Paul the apostle is buried. 

Kevin has had a varied career; he started work as a storeman for Marston Radiator Services before leaving to joining the Royal Navy at 18, where he was lucky enough to travel to many parts of the world, including the Far East in 1979.

Ten years later, in 1985, he worked as a civilian for the Ministry of Defence, again involved in travelling all over world in support of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Service. He later ran a pub, and eventually ended up working for Hampshire Constabulary as a civilian support worker at the Police HQ in Winchester.  During his time both with the RN and the RFA he had been involved in humanitarian relief aid work. For example, providing much needed initial help to those whose communities have be devastated by hurricanes in the West Indies.

Deacon Kevin’s travels and working with people from all sorts of different culture has given him a feel for social justice issues in particular with regard to the effects of poverty. He said “I have been to some of the poorest countries in the world, and seen at first hand how corruption, bureaucratic inefficiency, war, disinterest and indifference to the plight of others, causes suffering and poverty. As Christians we are called to respond to the needs of our neighbour and our neighbour is that person who needs our help and we are in a position to help, indifference is not an option”.

The Pontifical Beda college where Kevin studied at in Rome is an international college with students from all over the world including Russian and Greek Orthodox ecumenical students. Kevin says that this has given him a taste of the universal church "as we worked, studied and relaxed with each other, we discovered just how much we have in common and the different types of problems that affects our local communities". Kevin says he is looking forward to his new ministerial work.

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