From a 20-year lucrative career as an independent real estate broker and catastrophic insurance adjuster to full-time caregiver to religious life, Glenmary Brother Jude Smith always had a focus on helping people and treating them fairly. Throughout his four-decade journey, Brother Jude felt called to something deeper. “Since I was a young kid, I felt a call to religious life, on and off. I was living my secular life and then I decided to apply to Glenmary,” he says. 

The application process came via several starts and stops in discernment. At the age of 35, Brother Jude met with a vocations director of the Dominican Friars [Order of Preachers], then later with the Archdiocese of New Orleans, all the while researching other religious orders. “Through all my searching I was in contact with Glenmary from the very beginning,” Brother Jude notes. 

In 2015, Brother Jude moved in with his mom because of her declining health. She had a major stroke in January 2017. “She died six months later but I was her sole caregiver in every sense of the word. I wouldn’t change it for the world — it gave me a good heart, not only for the elderly, but for anybody who just is marginalized and needs more care.”   

After her passing, Brother Jude recalls, “something hit me saying ‘what is God calling me to do?’ At that time, I felt like I was being called to the priesthood.” Two years later, at the age of 45, Brother Jude sold his real estate company and applied to Glenmary. “Connecting with Glenmary has been the best thing,” says Brother Jude. 

In January 2020, he began formation studies at St. Meinard Seminary. “When you feel called to religious life, you feel called but you don’t realize what that is just yet. Throughout the early years of formation, I felt something powerful.” Yet, Brother Jude wasn’t sure whether that was priesthood or brotherhood. 

“Before I went off to my second phase of novitiate, Father Steve [Pawlek] said ‘decide where you will feel the most free and the most happy.’ During my novitiate year I switched to brotherhood and I took my first oath as a Brother. I’ve been happy ever since.” Brother Jude professed his final oath as a Glenmary Missioner on May 23, 2026. 

While all Glenmarians take the same evangelical counsels, Brother Jude believes the flexibility of a religious Brother aligns most effectively with his charism and talents. “I have a focus on health and wellness. I’m getting certified as a Health and Wellness, and Spirituality Coach. I’m also a certified Volunteer Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the state of Georgia. I know God is calling me to help those we serve create healthier lifestyles through education.”  

Brother Jude is currently assigned to Blakely, Georgia where he ministers as an ombudsman, in prison ministry, and at El Refugio hospitality house.