Bishop-Emeritus John M. Smith’s 81st birthday was celebrated by a small group of well-wishers, including Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., during a party in St. Joseph’s Nursing Home, Lawrenceville, June 23.
Born in Orange in 1935, Bishop Smith was ordained a priest in 1961 and a bishop in 1988 for the Archdiocese of Newark, where he served as auxiliary bishop. In 1991 he was named by Pope John Paul II as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in Florida. In 1995, the Holy Father named Bishop Smith the coadjutor of the Diocese of Trenton in line to succeed Bishop John C. Reiss. Bishop Smith headed the Diocese of Trenton for 13 years, from 1997 until his retirement in 2010 when he was succeeded by Bishop O’Connell.