Last night I was honored to attend a farewell Mass for Monsignor William Smith, at a overflowing chapel at Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y. Monsignor Smith, among other things, educated two decades worth of priests in the Archdiocese of New York, including some men near and dear to me. Like the funeral Mass for Father Neuhaus earlier this month, last night was a great celebration of a man who lived his life selflessly, and was so obviously happy to do so.

Like Father Neuhaus, Monsignor Smith was a stalwart warrior for life, leading an intellectual, faithful, and accessible conversation in and outside the Church. His role in encouraging others to battle cannot be adequately calculated. As one of his former students (and later colleagues), Fr. Donald Haggerty, put it last night: Monsignor Smith valued “goodness and honesty above all.” That, along with fidelity to Christ, is how he lived and how he wanted to see others live, too–especially, but certainly not exclusively, priests, who he had a special obligation to as teacher, colleague, and spiritual father. If he saw these things in you, “he simply liked you.”

And he was simply kind, I know from my experience with him; I met him at a Fellowship of Catholic Scholars meeting years ago.

A funny story that was told during the sermon last night: Seminarians would joke that Monsignor Smith was incapable of giving oral true/false exams successfully because he would always give the false statement away. It might be a cough, or a natural look of repulsion in his face, but he would naturally manage to give the false statement away. He was just that committed to truth.

Brian Caulfield writes, in part:

He was known for his direct manner and what he described as “sandpaper” personality, and also for great patience with his students and seminarians. He was not impressed with himself or his position and thus was not afraid to speak his mind to those of high office.
In the 1980s, he had dialogues with New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, when the latter was loudly voicing his “personally opposed but…” stance on abortion, in opposition to Cardinal O’Connor. After one such encounter with the Governor, Monsignor Smith said that he hoped Cuomo would be voted out of office, but not for political reasons. He hoped that, away from politics, Cuomo would join Gov. Hugh Carey, a fellow Catholic, in renouncing his pro-abortion stance in the more reflective moments of retirement.
To Monsignor Smith, the state of the soul was more important than the governing of the state.
Monsignor Smith was also known for his quick wit and dry, sometimes biting humor. “I see from the fact you are here that you have escaped abortion,” he would begin many a lecture. “But don’t take comfort, because we are all candidates for euthanasia.” It was his startling way to warn whoever would listen that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

If you’re interested, here he is talking about Veritatis Splendor and here he is talking about “the encroachment of the culture of death” and here he is talking about saints and “holiness.” (And I can’t wait until this Firing Line become available on DVD.)

R.I.P.

And God’s speed to the students who are now the teachers.