Monsignor Smith
Monsignor Smith prepared for the priesthood at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia and was ordained May 14, 1960 at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia.
In 1971 he was named a Prelate of Honor of His Holiness with the title Monsignor by St. Pope John Paul II.
He served as pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Orefield 1973-85, during which time he oversaw the building of the current church and parish center.
He became pastor of St. Catharine of Siena Parish, Mount Penn in 1985, where he oversaw the construction of the new church, school and parish center.
He retired in 2008, becoming pastor emeritus of St. Catharine, and returned to St. Joseph the Worker, where he currently resides.
In his nearly 50 years of service, Monsignor Smith also held the following assignments and positions:
Assistant pastor, St. Mary, St. Clair, 1960-61; advocate, Diocesan Tribunal, 1961; assistant pastor, St. Patrick, Pottsville, 1961-63; assistant pastor, Holy Rosary, Reading, 1963-65) ; regional director, Bishops’ Relief Agency, Berks County, 1963-67; assistant pastor, St. Margaret, Reading, 1965-67; associate professor, Reading Central Catholic High School, 1965-67; secretary, Diocesan Committee on Ecumenism, 1966; professor and chaplain, Bethlehem Catholic High School, 1967-69.
Also: vicar for religious, Diocese of Allentown, 1968-70; member, Council of Priests – Diocesan Consultors, 1968-69; assistant superintendent of schools for religious education, 1969-73; resident, St. Joseph, Reading, 1969-71; diocesan director, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 1969; resident, St. Joseph the Worker, Orefield, 1971-73; member, Council of Priests, 1981; chaplain, Serra Club of Allentown, 1983-84; chairman, Committee for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life, 1985-91.
Member, Budget Board, Reading Central Catholic High School, 1988-92; regional coordinator, Pro-Life, Berks County, 1990-2000; member, Advisory Board, Reading Central Catholic High School, 1992-2000; member, Council of Priests, Berks County representative, 2000-05; member, College of Consultors, 2000-05.
John and Alice Freeh
John Freeh Jr. and Alice Finn were married in 1975. They are the parents of Rebecca, Brian and John Gerald, and grandparents of six.
Alice is the second daughter of the late Gerald and Aileen Grady Finn of St. Anne Parish, Bethlehem. She attended school at St. Anne and graduated from Bethlehem Catholic High School (Becahi). She earned a bachelor’s degree in special education for the visually handicapped and elementary education at Kutztown State College before marrying John and moving to the Schenectady, New York area.
Alice’s love for cooking and baking led her to found a catering business in the Saratoga Springs, New York area. After 28 years in upstate New York, Alice and John moved to the Medford Lakes, New Jersey area, and after three years, back to the Lehigh Valley.
Her lifelong passion for the theater was inspired when she was recruited by Sister Catherine Immaculate, the iconic lead for the theater at Becahi; 34 years later she returned to volunteer as theater director, in time for Sister Catherine to attend her shows.
Alice was recognized as a Bethlehem Catholic Distinguished Alumni.
John is the eldest of five children and only son of John and Mary Kilgour Freeh, parishioners of Assumption BVM, Bethlehem for over 60 years. He attended grade school at Sacred Heart Home in Coopersburg and spent his freshman year at Becahi, then attended minor seminary in Geneva, Illinois.
He transferred to Lehigh University, Bethlehem, where he earned a degree in engineering physics. He was hired as a test engineer by the General Electric Company to work at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory, a government facility dedicated to naval nuclear propulsion.
He was selected as laboratory director, general manager and president after 19 years of a variety of increasingly challenging positions. During this period, John earned a master’s degree in electrical systems engineering from Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute. During his eight years as laboratory general manager, John led the transition of the laboratory contract from General Electric to Martin Marietta to Lockheed Martin.
The couple moved to the Cherry Hill, New Jersey area shortly before the 2001 terrorist attacks, with John assuming responsibility for Lockheed Martin’s defense and national security services businesses, which served all branches of the military, Department of Energy, and the newly formed Transportation Security Administration.
John retired in 2007 to pursue his interest in strengthening family, applying the leadership lessons and philosophy he had “learned the hard way” during his years of service to the country and the people he was responsible for, including his children and grandchildren. He and Alice co-founded their Faith in Families Foundation with this end in mind.
He has served on various boards for many years, including St. Clare’s Hospital and Catholic Charities in Schenectady, New York; Red Cross (vice chair) and Cerebral Palsy in Trenton, New Jersey, and Mercy School and the newly established Kolbe Academy here in the Diocese of Allentown.
John enjoys mentoring kids and other persons in leadership positions. Alice taught him that he enjoyed designing and building high school theater sets with those beloved Becahi theater kids.
