“Love people for God’s sake” was the motto that Harrie Smeets chose when he was appointed Bishop of Roermond in the autumn of 2018. The motto matched the line of Pope Francis.
Secularization and orthodoxy under Bishop Jo Gijsen (1972-1993) had reduced the flock that Smeets was allowed to shepherd. Frans Wiertz, Smeets’ predecessor as bishop, could not have turned the tide. The child abuse scandals within the Catholic Church didn’t help either.
Before his appointment, Smeets was dean of Venray, where he was known as an amiable man with inspiring sermons. The clergyman born in Heerlen and raised in Born benefited from the Dutch studies he completed after high school. His calling came late: “I always felt at home in the church, but initially I was not that concerned with God. Apparently God was busy with me.”
He died on Wednesday at the age of 63.
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Death sentence
At the age of 25, Smeets started training as a priest. After his ordination he worked in parishes in Thorn, Wessem, Maastricht and Weert. “I have seen almost every corner of the diocese except the Heuvelland.”
Smeets’ years as bishop were overshadowed by disaster. From March 2020, churches were faced with corona measures and lockdowns, which were not conducive to the already poor attendance of believers. It only made cuts within the diocese even more necessary.
At the end of May 2021, the bishop was admitted to Roermond hospital. At first doctors thought it was a stroke, but shortly afterwards they discovered a brain tumor. It immediately turned out to be a death sentence in the long term.
The bishop bore his cross without grumbling. “There are people who have it much worse than me,” he put his fate into perspective in the daily newspaper The Limburger. “I have good doctors, they pray for me a lot and I am well cared for. I also know people for whom it doesn’t matter whether home care comes at seven or ten o’clock. Because they have nothing to do anymore and never get visitors.”
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‘Rise from the dead’
The bishop also took comfort in his faith. Last year a collection by him was published under the title Witnesses to the Resurrection. “Rising from the dead is incomprehensible,” the bishop said on that occasion in front of the camera of regional broadcaster L1. “But it did happen. And it awaits us all.”
Smeets expressed gratitude that he lived longer than originally anticipated by doctors. He was in pain, tired more easily and became dependent on a wheelchair, but continued to attend masses and other ceremonies. Many of his other duties were taken over by his vicar general.
At the beginning of March this year, the diocese announced that a second tumor had been found in the bishop and that treatment had finally been completed. In August he tendered his resignation for health reasons.
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