At 10pm of August 28, 2015 Fr Richard Smith died at age 87 missing a
month before reaching 88 years. Fr Richard had gone that day to
visit the grave of his brother, a Dominican monk who is in the
cemetery of Watari of Fukushima City. Death came to him during the
night due to a sudden cardiac arrest. That same day his remains were
transferred to the Salesian community of Himonya (Meguro, Tokyo).
On August 31 (Monday), a night vigil liturgical celebration was held
in the Japanese style with over 400 faithful present, including
Salesians, members of the Salesian Family and close friends of Fr
Richard. And the next day, the first of September, the solemn
funeral was held at the Salesian Catholic Church Himonya (Meguro,
Tokyo) at 1pm with more than 300 attending, despite being a weekday.
According to the custom of Japan, after the funeral, his body was
cremated and his remains are now temporarily placed in the chapel of
the Salesian community for a month until it will be permanently laid
in the crypt of the Church Salesian Meguro.
Father Smith was born in the city of Kobe (Japan) on October 5,
1927. His dad was a very devout Christian and active in his parish
church. He greatly helped in the movie production of "The 26 martyrs
of Japan", filmed before the Second World War.
Richard, since childhood, felt a great affection for Fr Vincenzo
Cimatti. He entered the aspirantate (elementary level) which opened
in Oita province, next to the Church of Nakatsu. But for the
novitiate he had to wait a while because the Congregation in Japan
at that time had no chance to open the novitiate during the World
War.
Therefore, after the war he did the novitiate, and on the feast of
St. John Bosco (January 31, 1948) made his first Salesian religious
profession as a candidate for the priesthood. At that time, the
Province of Japan had not enough teachers and lacked a formation
structure, so he was sent to New Rochelle Don Bosco College in the
USA, to study philosophy.
He returned to Japan and made his practical training at the Ikuei
Polytechnic of Tokyo. For his theological studies, he made it at the
Salesian community of Chofu which had already set up a team of
formators and teachers. He was ordained priest on March 8, 1959 and
celebrated his Mass the next day right on the commemoration of
Blessed Dominic Savio's death.
As a Salesian priest, he worked in the orphanage in Kodaira, and in
the secondary school of Meguro and Osaka, then at the Salesian
Polytechnic of Suginami, in the secondary school of Kawasaki and
Miyazaki. He was characterized by fatherly kindness with the
students and was much loved as a spiritual director.
His next obedience led him to assume pastoral work in the churches
as pastor and parochial vicar. From 1995 to 1998 he was parish
priest in the Church of Mikawashima- From 1999 to 2005 he was
Director of the Meguro Kindergarten. During this time, because of
his thoroughness at work, he was asked to be economer of the
community and then also the same work in the community of the
Yotsuya Provincial House from 2006 to 2012.
Despite his age, when the nuns ask him to for the ministry of the
sacrament of reconciliation and the celebration of the Eucharist, he
took the car and went to perform this priestly service.
Every year in August he makes a pilgrimage to Fukushima by train to
visit the grave of his Dominican brother. For this, surely the Lord
wanted these two consecrated brothers of the Smith family to go to
Heaven from this city of Fukushima which is about 300 km north of
Tokyo.
Fr Richard Smith was a person of "low profile" as often typified by
Pope Francis when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, that is, did
not like to stand out in public or to receive publicity, but he was
a Salesian priest totally dedicated, with his typical kindness just
like Don Bosco and Don Cimatti. Such is the testimony given by the
alumni and people from the schools and parishes where he had worked
for many years.
May the Lord grant eternal joy to Fr Richard whose departure to
heaven occurred in this year of the bicentenary of the birth of St.
John Bosco (the first to die from the GIA province this year) and
even just on the month of August, and may Fr Richard join with Mary
Help of Christians, Don Bosco and Don Cimatti to intercede for us,
the Province and the Salesian Family in Japan.
Fr. Mario Michiaki Yamanouchi SDB
Salesian Provincial of Japan
