Father Tom Smith is a Conventual Franciscan, ordained as a priest in 1979. He is
second oldest of ten children, with this parents still living on the family farm
outside New Albany, Indiana. Father Tom went to Mt. St. Francis Seminary in
southern Indiana, studied psychology at the University of St. Thomas in St.
Paul, Minnesota, and received a Master of Divinity degree from Washington
Theological Union in Washington, D.C.
After ordination he served as associate at Our Lady of Consolation parish in
Valley Station, KY, then another parish in Chicago, before becoming a pastor in
Lorain, Ohio for 5 1/2 years. He returned to Mt. St. Francis as the guardian of
the friary and Province Treasurer for six years, and then was part of a retreat
team in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Father Tom enjoys music, pottery, camping,
and reading. His right leg was amputated as a result of an accident when he was
2 years old, but he continues to remain active in many ways.
In 2000 he studied Spanish in Costa Rica for three months, and then in January
2001 began ministry with the Spanish speaking people, half time at St. Rita and
half time in the New Albany Deanery in Indiana. It is good to be part of the
life here at St. Rita and to welcome the integration of the Hispanic community
in the parish.
E-mail Father Tom -
spanishministry@juno.com. |
