Precious Blood profile: Fr. James Smith, C.PP.S.

Father James Smith poised to carry out Precious Blood mission  

Father James Smith, C.PP.S., conveys a wry intelligence that is only the surface of the many layers of thought, knowledge, and analysis that form the foundation of his beliefs and actions. He has experienced a variety of parishes and assignments since the beginning of his formation with the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, and that breadth of exposure, along with his copious studying and willingness to keep learning and growing, helps him to envision a larger sense of the needs of the Church in the United States.  

Originally from southern Indiana, Fr. James attended Central College in Iowa before transferring to Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana, which was, at the time, staffed with a number of Missionaries of the Precious Blood priests, including Fr. Len Kostka, C.PP.S. “Fr. Len was old when I arrived at Saint Joe’s in 2005, but I was impressed at how much he continued to help out. Even in his early 90s, he taught himself enough Spanish to help out at St. Augustine in Rensselaer,” Fr. James says. 

Raised Protestant, Fr. James went through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) while at Saint Joe’s and was active in campus ministry. He began discerning religious communities and entered into formation with Missionaries of the Precious Blood upon graduation. “There were guys from parishes and guys in retreat work,” he says. “There were guys who were military chaplains. Seeing that variety was helpful for discernment. I also saw the way they lived, and they seemed like regular guys.”  

After formation in Chicago, including a period of community engagement in a variety of parishes and ministries, he spent several years in northwest Ohio, first in Glandorf, then completing his deaconship and first assignment as a priest in St. Henry. “It’s a little strange that a primary duty of a priest in that area is going to the home high school football games,” he says. “It’s a good way of learning about the community and learning how the community is connected. I had the privilege of being there when Saint Henry beat Coldwater in football for the first time in 22 years. They let off fireworks at the football field.” 

He credits the parish community with helping his formation. “What I came to learn was that a person doesn’t automatically know how to be a priest just through the oil or the hands on the head,” he says. “It takes laypeople to help figure out how to be an okay-enough priest.” 

After four years in St. Henry, Fr. James moved across the country, to Berkeley, California, to attend grad school at Graduate Theological Union. Except that the timing coincided with COVID-19 shutdowns, so attending grad school meant logging on to Zoom. He’s now located in Kansas City, Missouri, working on his dissertation to complete his PhD in practical theology.  

Fr. James’ many opportunities to interact with Catholics in different communities contributes to his wide view of the Church and the challenges it faces. “The ways parishes once provided care for people might not be working in the same way today,” he says. “Our needs as people and communities have changed. At the same time, parish structure and approaches have not changed, or at least have not changed at the same rate as we have.” 

In particular, the needs of the poor can be overlooked. For one thing, he says, “Sunday times don’t work. There isn’t a day off for those who are at or near the poverty line in terms of getting enough work to make ends meet.” Catholic schools are another place to consider. “As religious orders of men and women have changed dramatically in the past 50 years, staffing Catholic schools have changed too. I worry that one of the effects of these changes is leaving the poor in our communities behind.”  

Fr. James applies a pragmatic view to some of the logistical challenges of the Church. “Some parishes and dioceses continue to expand, and there aren’t enough religious to staff the needs. I think it’s helpful to look at the work we’ve done in lay formation. 

“Almost all religious orders start with a founder with a particular charism,” he says. “That charism expands so much that other people start joining, usually both members of the religious order and lay people who join in the charism. Our Precious Blood charism is rooted in the same way and will continue to develop in wider circles, especially in the contributions of all who are baptized.”