John M. Smith was born in Orange on June 23, 1935, the oldest son of Mrs. Ethel Charnock Smith and Mortimer F. Smith, now both deceased. He has two brothers, Andrew is a Benedictine priest at Saint Mary Abbey in Morristown, New Jersey, and Gregory is a resident of Westboro, Massachusetts.
He attended Saint John Parochial Elementary School in Orange, New Jersey, and Saint Benedict Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey. Later, he attended John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, prior to beginning his studies for the priesthood in 1955 at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, New Jersey.
He received a bachelor's degree in classical languages from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey, in 1957, and a bachelor's degree in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1961.
Since his Episcopal Ordination in 1987, Bishop Smith has served on the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Nominations and the United States Catholic Conference Communications Committee. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the North American College in Rome.
He has served as a member of the Bishops' Committee on Migration and Refugee Services, the Southeast Regional Office for Hispanic Affairs, and the Southeast Pastoral Institute. He was a trustee of Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Saint Joseph Seminary College in Saint Benedict, Louisiana.
Bishop Smith served six years on the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services and made five visits to Africa on behalf of the board. He is a member of the Board of Regents of Seton Hall University and the Board of Trustees of Saint Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey. Presently, Bishop Smith is a former member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy.
In his 13 years leading the Diocese of Trenton, Bishop Smith is responsible for fostering numerous initiatives that have served the people of the diocese and beyond.
Following the call of Pope John Paul II to place ever-advancing communications technologies at the service of the Gospel, Bishop Smith oversaw the diocese's establishment of an Internet presence with the launch of the diocesan website, www.dioceseoftrenton.org, in 2000. He also championed an addition to the diocese's existing radio and television programming with the newly-created teen talk show, "Realfaith TV", which is seen on cable television and online throughout North America and has garnered numerous prestigious awards. To reach the growing Hispanic Catholic community, Bishop Smith ushered in the development of the new Spanish-language television program, "Cristo Para Todos".
The diocese's online presence has grown significantly in the decade that followed, with an expanded online presence for the diocese's Hispanic Apostolate; vocations; the sanctity of human life and, in 2009, launch of the diocesan newspaper's website, TrentonMonitor.com.
Bishop Smith has also shepherded the diocese toward new ways to be Church in response to new and changing realities. As part of the call to empower the laity and prepare lay men and women for ministry in the diocese, Bishop Smith created the Institute for Lay Ecclesial Ministry, which has formed and commissioned 110 individuals to date.
In order that parishes might be more effective and engaging in their ministry and outreach to their parishioners and the wider community, particularly in response to population changes and a declining number of priests, Bishop Smith set forth "The 11 Elements of a Vibrant Parish" in 2000 and launched a consultative study process in the years that followed in support of those ideals. The study gave rise to parish restructuring that reduced the number of parishes to 111 to date, and pointed to areas of interparochial cooperation and collaboration to enhance their ability to serve the shared needs of their people.
With declining enrollment in Catholic schools, Bishop Smith also called for a strategic planning process to determine the best ways to preserve Catholic education in the diocese for generations to come. In January 2006, Bishop Smith announced the "Commitment to Excellence" initiative and action plan that enumerated new measures in school leadership, marketing and financial management, and benchmarks that schools needed to achieve in enrollment, class size and curriculum development.
In August 2009, Bishop Smith officially inaugurated and promulgated a new diocesan pastoral plan, "Led By the Spirit," the result of nearly two years of consultation with Catholics throughout the diocese. The plan identifies seven pastoral priorities – dealing with charity and justice, pastoral leadership, ethnic diversity, youth and young adult ministry, faith formation and Sunday worship – and resulted in a restructuring of the diocesan administrative structure that better supports the priorities. Since the promulgation, all parishes have been engaged in developing action plans in service to "Led By the Spirit."
With the appointment on June 4, 2010 of a coadjutor bishop, Bishop Smith welcomed Vincentian Father David M. O'Connell, former president of The Catholic University of America. On July 30, 2010, Bishop Smith served as the principal consecrator in the Episcopal ordination of his soon-to-be successor, Bishop David M. O'Connell, C.M.
On Dec. 1, 2010, Bishop Smith's resignation, which had been submitted to Rome in accordance with canon law, was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI. In his retirement, Bishop Smith remains active, celebrating Mass throughout the diocese and traveling abroad.