Father Ignatius Smith, OFM, 94

Father Ignatius Smith, OFM.

Father Ignatius Smith, OFM, 94, died on Aug. 14 at Teresian House in Albany. During his 74 years as a friar, Father Ignatius was an avid gardener, an international missionary for 10 years and served in the U.S. Navy chaplain corps for 23 years.

Father Ignatius was born on Nov. 8, 1930, and grew up near the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in northeast Washington, D.C. He was one of three children of Francis, a lawyer, and Mary L. Smith (née Russell), who became a homemaker after growing up on a farm. Father Ignatius attended St. Cecilia Grammar School and St. John’s High School, both located in Washington. During his senior year of high school, two college students who were friars encouraged him to pursue becoming a Franciscan, and he subsequently enrolled at St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, N.Y., that September. According to a 2013 article in the Anderson (S.C.) Independent, he credited these friars with influencing his decision to become a Franciscan priest.

He was received into the Order of Friars Minor on Aug. 12, 1950, in Paterson, N.J., and professed first vows there one year later. He made his solemn profession at Christ the King Seminary in Allegany, N.Y., on Aug. 13, 1954, and was ordained on Sept. 8, 1956, in Washington, D.C.

After a year of pastoral ministry at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston, he embarked on a decade-long mission to Goiás, Brazil. In a parish that spanned more than 1,000 miles, Father Ignatius traveled by mule during the six-month dry season to minister in a land with no electricity. While there, he became fluent in Portuguese.

After returning to the United States in 1968, he spent one year updating his theological education following the Second Vatican Council before serving for 23 years as a Navy Chaplain Corps captain, offering the sacraments and providing counseling on bases and ships.

He was assigned to the U.S.S. Sanctuary, a hospital vessel and the first ship to carry female sailors, and the U.S.S. Nimitz, on which he met President Gerald Ford. He served in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va. He also served at Virginia’s Naval Amphibious Base and was senior chaplain at Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s biggest naval base. He also served at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, Twentynine Palms in California’s Mojave Desert, and as harbor captain at Pearl Harbor, Hi. His final assignment was in Okinawa, Japan, with the Marine Corps.

After he retired from the military in 1992, Father Ignatius wrote in an online essay published by the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province that he embraced the challenge of Navy life and chaplaincy. “I was there, in this very secular environment, to help put God in his rightful place in their young lives. The Franciscan habit, when worn, was greatly respected and helped the formation of these young sailors and marines.”

From 1992-93, Father Ignatius was parochial vicar at St. Anne Parish in Fair Lawn, N.J., then served in the same role at St. Camillus Parish in Silver Spring, Md., for three years. Between 1995-2012, he served as pastor of Holy Cross Parish in Callicoon, N.Y., where he revived the Catholic Youth Organization, hosted community events and engaged his congregation with memorable, story-focused sermons.

He briefly retired for three months before requesting a new assignment, relocating to Anderson, S.C., where he was pastor and interim administrator of St. Joseph Catholic Church. At age 82, he led a parish of 650 families and served as a pastoral counselor.

“Every place I’ve gone, the people have been great,” Father Ignatius told the Independent in 2013. “I try to bring people closer to God, to help them realize their spiritual potential.”

He ministered at St. Francis Chapel in Albany from 2015-19 and lived at St. Bernadine of Siena Friary in Loudonville until 2022, when he moved to the Teresian House in Albany.

Father Ignatius was determined to serve for as long as he could, saying “I’d rather wear out than rust away.” He was treasured for his self-deprecating humor, which often emerged in his homilies.

Father Ignatius is survived by his friar brothers of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, nephews and nieces: Colonel Christopher G. Wright, USMCR Retired; Michael A. Smith; Dr. Mary E. Wright; Kathleen S. Smith and Todd E. Smith, and many grandnephews and grandnieces. A Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated on Aug. 19 at St. Anthony’s Church in Butler, N.J. Burial followed at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Butler, N.J.