Michael Smith KC*HS (born 6 June 1940) is the retired

Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath The Diocese of Meath ( ga, Deoise na Mí) is a diocese of the Catholic Church that is located in the middle part of Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses of the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. Thomas Deenihan has been bishop of the di ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was ordained priest in the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran on 9 March 1963 by Cardinal Traglia,

Cardinal-Bishop A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

of Albano. He celebrated his first mass on 10 March 1963 in the Clementine Chapel, located under the Altar at Papal Basilica of Saint Peter.

Early life and education

He was born in

Oldcastle, County Meath Oldcastle () is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is located in the north-west of the county near the border with Cavan, approximately 13 miles (21 km) from Kells. The R154 and R195 regional roads cross in the town's market square. As ...

, the son of Brigid Fagan and Mr.Jack Smith and studied for the priesthood at the Irish College in Rome. He 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 va ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

for his native diocese on 9 March 1963 an continued his studies in Rome where he earned a doctorate in canon law. He attended all 168 days of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

for which he and 41 other young priests prepared the official record, having been appointed as a recording secretary to the Council immediately after his ordination as a priest. After his return from Rome he served in the Cathedral Parish of Mullingar, as chaplain to St Loman's Hospital and as secretary to the bishop. He was appointed auxiliary bishop of the diocese and

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 an ...

of Leges on 17 November 1983 and was consecrated on 29 January 1984. The

principal consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

was

Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, equivalent of ''Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás (1892–1950), ...

; his principal co-consecrators were Archbishop

Gaetano Alibrandi Gaetano Alibrandi (14 January 1914 – 3 July 2003) of the Roman Catholic Church was a senior papal diplomat and former Personal Secretary to Giovanni Battista Cardinal Montini (later Pope Paul VI) Biography Born at Castiglione di Sicilia in the ...

, the Apostolic Nuncio to

, and

Cahal Daly Charles (Cahal) Brendan Cardinal Daly KGCHS (1 October 1917 – 31 December 2009) was an Irish philosopher, theologian, writer and international speaker and, in later years, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Daly served as the Roman Cath ...

, Bishop of the

Diocese of Down and Connor The Diocese of Down and Connor, ( ga, Deoise an Dúin agus Chonaire) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of the me ...

. On 13 October 1988, he was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

with the right of succession. On 16 May 1990 he succeeded John McCormack on the latter's

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

Episcopal Ministry

For much of his time as Bishop of Meath he served as

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

to the Irish Bishops' Conference and was actively involved in

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

matters. Regarded as a traditional bishop he is well respected both by the people of his

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

and those in public life. He took a keen interest in world affairs and led fund-raising campaigns to assist the victims of earthquakes in South America and victims of the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

.
/ref> In October 2006 he travelled to Rome with the other bishops of Ireland for their five-yearly ''ad limina'' visit to the Pope. Smith retired as Bishop of Meath on 18 June 2018

References

External links

Website of the Diocese of Meath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Michael People from County Meath 1940 births Living people Roman Catholic bishops of Meath Pontifical Irish College alumni Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ireland