John Mortimer Fourette Smith (June 23, 1935 – January 22, 2019) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Trenton in New Jersey from 1997 to 2010. He previously served as bishop of the

Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

in Florida from 1991 to 1995 and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jers ...

in New Jersey from 1987 to 1991

Biography

Early life

John Smith was born on June 23, 1935, in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

, to Mortimer and Ethel (née Charnock) Smith. The oldest of three children, he had two brothers, Andrew (who later became a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

) and Gregory. John Smith attended

Saint Benedict's Preparatory School St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school has been accredit ...

in Newark and

John Carroll University John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of 3 ...

in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1955, he entered Immaculate Conception Seminary, a branch of Seton Hall University, obtaining a Bachelor's degree in

classical language A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...

s in 1957.

Priesthood

Smith was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Newark by Archbishop

Thomas Boland Thomas Aloysius Boland (February 17, 1896 – March 16, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey from 1952 to 1974. He previously served as an auxiliary bish ...

on May 27, 1961. He then served as assistant chancellor, as

defender of the bond The defender of the bond ( la, defensor vinculi or ''defensor matrimonii'') is a Catholic Church official whose duty is to defend the marriage bond in the procedure prescribed for the hearing of matrimonial causes which involve the validity or ...

of the Metropolitan Tribunal, and director of the Cursillo movement for the archdiocese. Smith earned a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacre ...

degree (1961) and a doctorate in canon law (1966) from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was also a visiting professor of

pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as a ...

at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, an elected representative on the archdiocesan Council of Priests, and

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of central Bergen County. Smith was raised to the rank of

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

in 1971, and assigned to the team ministry of St. Joseph Church in Oradell in 1973. In 1982, Smith became a faculty memberof the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he was director of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education and program director of the U.S. Bishops' Consultation IV. Upon his return to New Jersey in 1986, he was named pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Dumont and later

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop' ...

and moderator of the

curia Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Newark

On November 20, 1987, Smith was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of ''

Tres Tabernae Three Taverns ( la, Tres Tabernae; , ''Treis Tabernai'') was a place on the ancient Appian Way, about 50 km (31 miles) from Rome, designed for the reception of travellers, as the name indicates. History Tres Tabernae originated as a post stat ...

'' and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

on January 25, 1988, from Archbishop

Theodore McCarrick Theodore Edgar McCarrick (born July 7, 1930) is a laicized American bishop and former cardinal of the Catholic Church. Ordained a priest in 1958, he became an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York in 1977, then became Bishop of Metuch ...

, with Archbishop

Peter Gerety Peter Gerety (born May 17, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known as Judge Daniel Phelan in ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). Career Gerety is a veteran of stage, screen and television. In early 1992, he performed to critical acclaim on Broadway ...

and Bishop Walter Curtis serving as co-consecrators. From November 1985 to July 1991, including his time as auxiliary bishop of Newark, Smith lived with McCarrick at the Newark cathedral rectory.

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

Smith was named the third bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee on June 25, 1991, by John Paul II. He was installed on July 31 of that year.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Trenton

On November 21, 1995, Smith was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Trenton. He succeeded Bishop John C. Reiss as the ninth bishop of Trenton upon the latter's resignation on June 30, 1997. In 2002, Smith removed a priest accused of molesting a young boy from an administrative position in the

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

. The diocese had reported the allegation to the Monmouth County prosecutor's office when it was first made in 1990, but prosecutors had decided not to file criminal charges because of insufficient evidence. Smith relieved the priest of his duties following a review of personnel files to ensure the public's confidence in the clergy.

Retirement and legacy

On June 4, 2010,

David M. O'Connell David Michael O'Connell (born April 21, 1955) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Trenton in New Jersey since 2010. He is a member of the Congregation of the Mission and a past presi ...

was named coadjutor bishop of the diocese, and on December 1, 2010,

Pope Benedict VI Pope Benedict VI ( la, Benedictus VI; died June 974) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 19 January 973 to his death in 974. His brief pontificate occurred in the political context of the establishment of the Holy Roman Emp ...

accepted Smith's resignation as bishop of Trenton. John Smith died in Morris Hall Meadows Home in

Lawrenceville, New Jersey Lawrenceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Lawrence Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States.

, on January 22, 2019, following a long illness. In November 2020, a Vatican investigation into defrocked cardinal

identified Smith as one of three bishops who "provided inaccurate and incomplete information to the Holy See regarding McCarrick’s sexual conduct with young adults" when McCarrick was a candidate for the post of Archbishop of Washington in 2000.

References

External links

* *
Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, John Mortimer 1935 births 2019 deaths John Carroll University alumni Seton Hall University alumni People from Orange, New Jersey Roman Catholic bishops of Newark Roman Catholic bishops of Trenton Roman Catholic bishops of Pensacola–Tallahassee St. Benedict's Preparatory School alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from New Jersey