William Smith (Monsignor)

Msgr. William Bartley Smith S.T.D. (August 4, 1939 – January 24, 2009) was a Roman Catholic priest and professor of moral theology from the New York area in the United States of America. In addition to teaching at St Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York, Smith made many appearances on national media presenting a conservative Catholic viewpoint to contemporary events and questions. He also became a regular host on the Catholic television station EWTN and some of his many lectures and presentations were recorded for distribution to teach Catholic theology. Smith was hailed by conservative Catholics in America for his staunch orthodoxy following Vatican II.

Smith was born on August 4, 1939 and was raised in Yonkers, New York with two older brothers. There was an active Catholic community in the town during that era and his family often had parish priests over for meals. Smith later recalled "The home, the school, and the Church were all playing the same tune, resonating the same values, confirming and reconfirming the same direction." Smith and his brothers served as altar boys at St. Denis parish and were influenced by its Msgr. Joseph O'Connor and his younger associate priests (Fr. Quill & Fr. Marshall) working with him. The Smith brothers were among the altar boys that accompanied the associate priests on outings as a reward for being willing to serve at very early morning masses. Smith began to be interested in pursuing the priesthood by third grade.

Smith attended Jesuit Xavier High School, where among other subjects he studied Greek and Latin and played sports. As graduation neared and Smith's desire to become a diocesan priest became known, the Jesuits tried to convince him to join their order instead. Smith declined, later recalling "oddly enough I kept saying I didn't want to be a teacher." Smith graduated in 1957 at a time when Pope Pius XII led what was seen as a very unified Roman Catholic Church, Smith later recalled the feeling using a sport's analogy – that Catholicism seemed like one large team – "some people were guards and some were ends, but here was no question where that goal line was."

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