Mike Schmitz

Last updated

Mike Schmitz
Father Mike Schmitz.jpg
Church Catholic Church
Diocese Duluth
Orders
OrdinationJune 6, 2003
by  Dennis Marion Schnurr
Personal details
Born
Michael Thomas Schmitz

(1974-12-14) December 14, 1974 (age 49)
Nationality American
Denomination Catholicism
Alma mater
Ordination history of
Mike Schmitz
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained by Dennis Marion Schnurr (Duluth)
DateJune 6, 2003
Place Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, Duluth, Minnesota
Source(s): [1]

Michael Thomas Schmitz [2] (born December 14, 1974) [3] is an American Catholic priest, speaker, author, and podcaster.

Contents

The Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries in the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, [4] [5] Schmitz is most notable for his social media presence, which mainly consist of his YouTube videos [6] [7] [8] and The Bible in a Year podcast, both of which are produced by the Catholic publisher Ascension Press. [9] [10] Schmitz is a public speaker and makes speeches at Catholic events such as the Fellowship of Catholic University Students leadership summit. [11]

Early life and education

Schmitz is the fourth of six children, born to Peter Schmitz, an orthopedic surgeon, [12] and Gudrun "Goodie" Schmitz (née Amundsen). [13] [14] [15] Schmitz was born in the Oak Park neighborhood of Chicago, where his father attended medical school. [16] The family then relocated to Brainerd, Minnesota, where his father practiced medicine. [17] Schmitz is of Irish and German descent; his paternal grandmother comes from County Cork. [18] Schmitz was baptized on the March 1, 1975 [19] at the Church of the Assumption, [20] Richfield, Minneapolis. He attended St Francis of the Lakes Catholic School for elementary school, [21] Brainerd High School, [22] and St John's University, where he majored in Theology. [23]

Despite being brought up in a Catholic family, Schmitz was largely indifferent to religion until the age of 15. [24] After spending time as a missionary in South America, [25] Schmitz attended Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity and was ordained in 2003 for the Diocese of Duluth. [26] Schmitz is currently the director of youth and young adult ministry for the diocese [27] as well as the Newman Center chaplain at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

Media career

Since 2015, Schmitz has been the host of Ascension Presents, a YouTube series produced by Ascension Press offering Catholic perspectives on cultural and societal issues. Beginning in 2017, these talks have also been offered as podcasts.

Ascension Presents
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2014-Present
Subscribers1 million [28]
Total views150,000,000+ [28]

Last updated: October 6, 2024

On January 1, 2021, Schmitz and Ascension launched a new podcast, The Bible in a Year , which consists of 365 daily episodes reading the entire bible (including the apocrypha). In each episode he reads and discusses sections of the Bible, also adding his own commentary and prayer. The podcast achieved success. [29]

Schmitz was the keynote speaker at the 2022 March for Life rally, an annual pro-life event in Washington, DC. [30] [31]

On June 29, 2022, Schmitz and Ascension announced they would be launching another podcast, The Catechism in a Year, which premiered on January 1, 2023. [32] The format is similar to The Bible in a Year, consisting of 365 daily episodes where Schmitz reads and discusses sections of the Catechism, adding in his own prayer and commentary. [33]

Books

  • Made for Love: Same-Sex Attraction and the Catholic Church (2018) [34]
  • How to Make Great Decisions (2019) [5]
  • A World Undone (November 20, 2020)
  • Pocket Guide to the Sacrament of Reconciliation (2021)
  • Bible in a Year Companion, Volumes 1-3 [35]

Lighthouse Catholic Media talks with Fr. Mike Schmitz

  • The Four Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, Hell
  • Beyond Belief: Following Christ Today
  • Changed Forever: The Sacrament of Baptism
  • Could God Love Someone Like Me?
  • From Love, By Love, For Love
  • Jesus Is...
  • Living Life By Design, Not Default
  • Love - Sacrifice - Trust: He Showed Us the Way
  • We Must Go Out: The Sacrament of Confirmation

See also

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References

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  2. "Fr. Mike Schmitz: "Lent + Q & A"". Youtube. FOCUS Catholic. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  3. "Michael Schmitz". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  4. "Young Adult Ministry". Dioceseduluth.org. Retrieved 2023-08-20.
  5. 1 2 Sarah Reinhard (2020-01-18). "Discernment 101: Father Mike Schmitz Tackles Decision-Making in Light of God's Will". National Catholic Register . Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  6. Matt Riedl (2020-03-09). "How to be like St. Joseph in a noisy world". Arlington Catholic Herald. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
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  11. Burkepile, Jacqueline (15 February 2016). "Father Mike Schmitz: Live for Jesus". National Catholic Register . Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
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  13. "Helen Amundsen". Brainerd Dispatch. 1999-04-02. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  14. Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Mass with Fr. Mike Schmitz , retrieved 2022-12-30
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  19. "Why Baptizing Your Baby Is the Most Important Thing You Can Do" , retrieved 2023-01-28
  20. "Michael Schmitz on Instagram: "47 years and four days ago…in this very church…God the Father became MY adoptive Father and I became one of His beloved sons. There will never be a way to repay Him for His goodness and His grace. And I will never be able to thank my parents and godparents enough for what they've done. As we have died in Christ, we also now live in Christ."". Instagram. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  21. Father Mike Schmitz , retrieved 2023-01-28
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  33. "A year with "A Catechism in a Year Podcast"". Catholic World Report.
  34. Daniel Mattson (2018-04-08). "Father Michael Schmitz Tells the Truth in Love About Same-Sex Attraction". National Catholic Register . Retrieved 2020-05-04.
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