KANSAS CITY, Kan.-
The Most Rev. Marion Francis Forst, a Roman Catholic bishop in Kansas for 47 years, has died at the age of 96.
Forst, who was the oldest bishop in the U.S., died Saturday night at Olathe Regional Medical Center.
The St. Louis native was a priest for 73 years. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1934 and spent his first two years as a priest on loan to the Diocese of Denver before returning to the St. Louis archdiocese.
He was a Navy chaplain during World War II. After his discharge in 1946, Forst became pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Cape Girardeau, Mo. He was appointed vicar general of the newly formed Diocese of Springfield-Cape Girardeau two years later.
He was named bishop of Dodge City in 1960.
Forst served as bishop of Dodge City for 16 years until 1976, when Pope Paul VI accepted his resignation because of health problems. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Kansas City, Kan., and held that post until retiring in 1986.
Funeral Mass and burial were scheduled for Thursday in Kansas City, Kan.
