Leo Richard Smith
Leo Richard Smith was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg in New York State for five months in 1963. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo in New York State from 1952 to 1963.
Biography
Early life
Leo Smith was born on August 31, 1905, in Attica, New York to Adam Henry and Mary Jane Smith. He attended Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1926. He then furthered his studies in Rome, earning a Ph.D. from the Pontifical University of St. [Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)|Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas] in 1928 and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from the Urban College of Propaganda in 1930.Priesthood
Smith was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Buffalo by Cardinal Basilio Pompili on December 21, 1929 at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. He received a doctorate in canon and civil law from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 1932.Following his return to New York, the diocese assigned Smith as a curate at St. Joseph's Cathedral Parish in Buffalo. In 1934, Bishop Joseph Henry Conroy named Smith as assistant chancellor of the diocese. He also served as diocesan director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and director of youth activities.The Vatican raised Smith to the rank of papal chamberlain in 1942 and domestic prelate in 1946. Bishop Bryan Joseph McEntegart named Smith as chancellor in 1946 and Bishop Walter Kellenberg appointed him as vicar general in 1953.