George Smith (bishop of Argyll and the Isles)

George John Smith (24 January 1840 – 18 January 1918) was a Scottish Catholic clergyman who served as the Bishop of Argyll and the Isles from 1892 to 1918.^[1]

The Right Reverend George Smith
Bishop of Argyll and the Isles
Church	Roman Catholic
Diocese	Argyll and the Isles
Appointed	31 December 1892
Term ended	18 January 1918
Predecessor	Angus MacDonald
Successor	Donald Martin
Orders
Ordination	17 December 1864 by Guglielmo Massaia
Consecration	25 April 1893 by Angus MacDonald
Personal details
Born	24 January 1840 Cuttlebrae, Banffshire, Scotland
Died	18 January 1918 (aged 77) Oban, Argyll, Scotland
Education	Blairs College Benedictine College, Douai
Alma mater	Saint-Sulpice Seminary

Life

Born in Cuttlebrae, Banffshire, Scotland on 24 January 1840, he was educated at Blairs College and then the Benedictine College at Douai, after which he proceeded to the Seminary of Issy. He was ordained to the priesthood on 17 December 1864 by Guglielmo Massaia.^[2] He was appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles by the Holy See on 31 December 1892, and consecrated to the Episcopate on 25 April 1893. The principal consecrator was Archbishop Angus MacDonald of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and the principal co-consecrators were Bishop Hugh MacDonald of Aberdeen and Bishop James August Smith of Dunkeld (later Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh).^[1]

John Lorne Campbell, however, has subtly criticized the Vatican's decision to appoint Bishop Smith to an overwhelmingly Gaelic-speaking Diocese. This is because Bishop Smith was "a successor who, although a man of holy personality, knew no Gaelic."^[3]

He died in office on 18 January 1918, aged 78.^[1]