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Archdiocese of VancouverBishop
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Archbishop Richard William Smith

Archbishop of Vancouver

Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Coat of arms of the Canadian Archbishop Richard William Smith, Archbishop of Edmonton. Blazon Per chevron Argent and Azure, in chief a trefoil Vert and a rose Gules barbed and seeded proper, in base three ears of wheat bound and surmounted by a cluster of grapes Or; Motto FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA; Symbolism The shamrock refers to Bishop Smith's maternal Irish ancestry, and the rose to his paternal English ancestry. The wheat and grapes represent the Eucharist, the source and summit of the Christian lif
Born
Apr 28, 1959 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Nationality
Canada
Ordained priest
May 23, 1987 Suite 101, Canada
Ordained bishop
Jun 18, 2002 Pembroke, Canada
Appointed
May 23, 2025
Principal consecrator
Marcel André Joseph Gervais
Co-consecrators
Terrence Thomas Prendergast Austin-Emile Burke
Motto
Fiat Voluntas Tua

Archbishop Richard W. Smith was born on 28 April 1959 in Halifax. He attended Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in communication. He was awarded a Master of Divinity at the Atlantic School of Theology, and a doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was ordained a priest for the metropolitan archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth on 23 May 1987. He has held the following offices: parish vicar of Immaculate Conception in Truro (1987-1991); chaplain of the Francophone community of Halifax (1990-1991); parish priest of Saint Peter in Sheet Harbour (1995-1997), parish priest of Bridgewater, Lunenburg and Elmwood (1997-1999); administrator of Saint John the Baptist in Halifax (1999-2001); and vicar general (2001-2002). On 27 April 2002 he was appointed bishop of Pembroke, receiving episcopal consecration the following 18 June. On 22 March 2007 he was appointed metropolitan archbishop of Edmonton. He was president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2011 to 2013.