Step 1: Listen to the people who were here first

- photo supplied Bishop Richard Smith (right) joins Fr. David May and Archbishop Thomas Collins in celebrating a Mass marking the Edmonton Marian Centre's 50th anniversary in 2005.

By GLEN ARGAN
WCR Editor

Ask Archbishop Richard Smith about his plans for the Edmonton Archdiocese and he says he will start by listening.

"Right now I can only speak of my own plans to meet as many people as I can and to listen to them," he said in an interview.

The new archbishop said he wants to learn what has been happening in the local Church, to meet the priests individually, and to visit religious communities, parishes and institutions and "just hear the story."

The Archdiocesan Pastoral Council will be "a great vehicle to listen to the voice of the people" as will be the Council of Priests, he said.

"It would be a little presumptuous for me to say 'These are my plans' before I hear what has been going on."

Smith had visited twice before his appointment was announced - once to lead a retreat for the priests of the archdiocese and the other to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Marian Centre.

And in the brief time Smith has been in the archdiocese since his appointment, he has liked what he has seen.

"I'm really impressed with the great stuff that has been going on here and with the great dedication of the people."

Five years in Pembroke

Ask Smith about his five years as bishop of Pembroke, Ont., and he says he knew virtually nothing about that diocese before arriving there too.

His work teaching at St. Peter's Seminary in London, Ont., had provided his only contacts. One faculty member was a priest on leave from Pembroke and two seminarians came from that diocese. They impressed him with their talk of the beauty of the Ottawa Valley.

On arriving, he found his appointment to have been "a great blessing," he said. "It was a great grace for me to have the opportunity to have been there."

The priests were "very good dedicated holy priests who just want to serve." The people have "a wonderful missionary spirit."

Previous to Smith's arrival, some parishes in the diocese had formed links with parishes in the Third World, mainly the Dominican Republic.

Taking to heart Pope John Paul II's call for churches of the North to build mutually supportive relations with churches in the South, they decided on a diocesan project.

He proposed building ties with the Archdiocese of Lima, Peru. "Everyone said 'Let's go for it.' Now it's really starting to take off."

Outreach in Lima

The diocese agreed to fund outreach programs in the shantytowns of Lima to provide good nutrition to 1,000 children for three years and to educate their parents.

In November 2006, the diocese sent 43 people on pilgrimage to Lima.

"This was a pilgrimage to go and encounter Christ in the poor," Smith said.

Every day, the Pembroke pilgrims went to visit local holy sites or to visit places of dire need, he recalled. Every night they prayerfully reflected on what they had witnessed.

"That has had a wonderful ripple effect in our own diocese - that whole sense of being called out of ourselves and into the mission."

The Church in Lima is extremely active and well organized in reaching out to people in poorer areas and giving them hope. But they lack financial resources, he said.

"It was a blessing for us to be able to give a helping hand."

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