Father Michael Smith, SJ, celebrates his 70th anniversary as a Jesuit this year. After dedicating his life as a Jesuit to pastoral ministry in parish and campus ministry, Fr. Smith currently serves in a ministry of prayer for the Church and the Society of Jesus.
Born in St. Louis, Fr. Smith entered St. Stanislaus Seminary in Florissant, Missouri, in 1954. Father Smith earned both a bachelor’s degree and a licentiate in philosophy from Saint Louis University. His theology studies were at St. Mary’s College in St. Marys, Kansas.
His first assignment was teaching Latin and English at Regis Jesuit High School in Denver. He was ordained a priest in 1967. He began assignments in campus ministry in 1971, serving first at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, then at Regis College (now Regis University) from 1973 to 1977, and at Saint Louis University from 1977 to 1979.
In 1979, his ministerial focus changed to parishes. He served at St. Francis Xavier College Church and St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in St. Louis until 1989. He then served at multiple parishes in the Diocese of Pueblo, Colorado from 1990 through 2015. From 2015 to 2018, he served as a pastoral minister at the Xavier Jesuit Center in Denver.
In 2018, he moved to St. Louis to join a community of senior Jesuits. He now resides at St. Ignatius Hall in Florissant, Missouri.
