John M. Smith (bishop)


John Mortimer Fourette Smith was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the ninth Bishop of Trenton, having previously served as Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 1991 to 1995. At the time of his death, Smith was serving as the Bishop Emeritus of Trenton, having been succeeded upon his retirement for age reasons by his Coadjutor Bishop, former Catholic University of America President David M. O'Connell, on Wednesday, December 1, 2010.

Early life

John Smith was born in Orange, New Jersey, to Mortimer and Ethel Smith. The oldest of three children, he had two brothers, Andrew and Gregory. He attended Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark and John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1955, he entered Immaculate Conception Seminary, a branch of Seton Hall University, from where he obtained a Bachelor's degree in classical languages in 1957.

Priesthood

Smith was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Thomas Boland on May 27, 1961. He then served as Assistant Chancellor, Defender of the Bond of the Metropolitan Tribunal, and director of the Cursillo movement for the Archdiocese of Newark.
Smith earned a Bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology and a doctorate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was also a visiting professor of pastoral theology at his alma mater of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, an elected representative on the Archdiocesan Council of Priests, and dean of central Bergen County. Smith was raised to the rank of Papal Chamberlain by Pope Paul VI in 1971, and assigned to the team ministry of in Oradell in 1973.
In 1982, he became a member of the faculty of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where Smith served as director of the Institute for Continuing Theological Education and program director of the U.S. Bishops' Consultation IV. Upon his return to the United States in 1986, he was named pastor of in Dumont and later vicar general and moderator of the curia.

Episcopal career

Titular Bishop of Tres Tabernae and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark

On November 20, 1987, Smith was appointed Titular Bishop of Tres Tabernae and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on January 25, 1988 from Archbishop Theodore McCarrick, with Archbishop Peter Gerety and Bishop Walter Curtis serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

Smith was later named the third Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, on June 25, 1991. He was formally installed on July 31 of that year.

Bishop of Trenton

On November 21, 1995, Smith was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Trenton in his native New Jersey. He succeeded 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. 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.
On Wednesday, December 1, 2010, his resignation for reasons of age was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI, and his Coadjutor Bishop, David M. O'Connell, the former President of the Catholic University of America, succeeded him as the tenth Bishop of Trenton.

Death

Bishop Smith died in Morris Hall Meadows, Lawrenceville on January 22, 2019 following a long illness.

Episcopal succession