Auxiliary Bishop Peter L. Smith

Bishop Peter L. Smith was born on February 8, 1958 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  He is the oldest of six children of Patrick L. and Joicelyn S. Smith. He attended elementary and secondary schools in Pietermaritzburg, and then completed military service.  He earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Administration and Marketing in 1981, and earned a law degree in 1983 both from the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg.  He moved to the United States and joined the People of Praise community working in South Bend, IN and in Minneapolis, MN.  He entered the seminary in 1996, and earned a Master of Arts degree in Theology in 2000 and a Master of Divinity degree in 2001, both from Mount Angel Seminary.
 
Peter Smith was ordained a priest by Archbishop Emeritus John G. Vlazny on June 9, 2001 at St. Mary Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.  He is a member of the Brotherhood of the People of Praise, a private association of the faithful.  After Father Smith served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lake Oswego (2001 – 2004), he studied at the Catholic University of America (2004 – 2006), earning a Licentiate Degree in Canon Law (J.C.L.).  He served as Pastor at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Portland from 2006 until his appointment as Vicar General in May 2013. 
 
After his ordination as a priest he served on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Priestly Life and Ministry committee from 2003 – 2008.  In the Archdiocese of Portland he has served in the Archdiocesan Tribunal as Defender of the Bond, Judge and Adjutant Judicial Vicar.  He has served on the Presbyteral Council, the College of Consulters, Priest Personnel Board, Archdiocesan Permanent Diaconate Board, Archdiocesan Finance Committee, Building Commission and the Ministry Review Board.  He has also served as the Archdiocesan Liaison to the Charismatic Renewal and as a Board Member of Central Catholic High School.  He is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese and serves as Moderator of the Curia.

Episcopal Ordination: April 29, 2014 by the Most Reverend Archbishop Alexander K. Sample in Portland, Oregon.