Podcast Summary: Called (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Episode: "Called to Sustain the Church for Generations"

Date: October 31, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz and guest Kevin Doyle, President of the Catholic Initiative, explore what it means to sustain Catholic life and institutions for generations. They delve into the challenges facing the Church today—declining parish numbers, disaffiliation, and societal despair—but focus on the hopeful response: investing in vibrant, mission-driven Catholic parishes and schools, especially those serving marginalized communities. Drawing on stories like St. Anne’s Basilica in Detroit and the philosophy behind the Catholic Initiative, the episode offers a vision of sacrificial generosity, strategic investment, and enduring service.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Crisis Facing the Church

• Parish Closures and Disaffiliation
  • Fr. Mike cites: "In the United States alone, I think 2,600 parishes have closed. 20% of Americans are saying that they're no longer affiliated with any kind of religion." (00:00)
  • He reflects on the cultural and spiritual wounds: "We're in, objectively speaking, the best time to be alive as humans... Also, subjectively speaking, one of the hardest times because this lack of meaning, lack of faith, crisis in connectedness." (09:39)
• Opportunities Among the Challenges
  • Church closures often hit the poorest communities hardest, with vibrant but underresourced parishes at risk.
  • Kevin Doyle: "It's too often the churches that are serving the people with the least that do get closed down. It's hard for people to get off the edge and say, well, I'm going to invest in the next one because I don't want to waste it." (00:23)

The Catholic Initiative: Mission & Approach

• History & Inspiration
  • Rooted in the legacy of Bill Pulte, who left his fortune to endow a charitable foundation supporting disadvantaged communities. (03:56)
  • Kevin Doyle explains: "Perpetual generosity... He wanted that legacy and that giving to continue forever in perpetuity after he was gone." (05:29)
• Strategic Investment, Not Just Charity
  • The Initiative bridges funders and service providers, offering both financial investment and hands-on expertise to ensure lasting impact.
  • It's about "investing in the future of the Catholic faith and ensuring that it’s available and accessible to millions for many, many, many years to come." (02:12)
• Focus on Sustainability and Flourishing
  • The core mission: "To invest in flourishing, vibrant, but often under resourced parishes and schools, ensuring that the Catholic faith and Catholic education remain alive and available for generations to come." (01:33)

Case Study: St. Anne’s Basilica, Detroit

• Origin Story
  • St. Anne’s is the second-oldest continually operating parish in the U.S., with a thriving, largely Hispanic community but a crumbling building.
  • "The archbishop of Detroit said it will come to ruin in the next 10 years if we don't restore it... 750 mostly Hispanic families... it’s the center of that community." (19:40)
• Innovative Ownership Model
  • Ownership transferred to the Catholic Initiative, then leased back to the parish for 200 years for $1, ensuring both preservation and operational independence.
  • "It provides some certainty of the future... legally and structurally, it is completely separate and isolated from anything else that could happen." (18:43)
• Replicable Success
  • Model now being applied to other schools and parishes, like Josephinum Academy in Chicago ("almost every student there is on either no tuition or little tuition... but no money to support it") (23:05), and Bulldog Catholic (Fr. Mike's own campus ministry).

What Makes the Model Different

• Combining Talents for Greater Impact
  • Mark Pulte’s expertise in construction and Kevin Doyle’s background in corporate leadership help parishes "whack out all the stuff that’s holding them back," so pastors can focus on ministry, not maintenance or fundraising. (14:16)
• Business Approach That Serves the Mission
  • Example: St. John’s Resort, a former seminary, is now a profitable luxury resort whose earnings support charitable work. "100% of profits go to charity... hiring people with intellectual development displays, housing refugees, giving food away to soup kitchens." (29:30)
  • Investment in talents: The Initiative hires first-rate professionals ("fundraisers who are phenomenal at fundraising") to achieve ambitious goals. (26:21)

Notable Quotes & Key Moments

• On the Need for Change
  • Fr. Mike: "If we keep on doing what we've been doing, we'll keep on getting what we've gotten, which is this decline, as opposed to saying, okay, is there another way to bring the same gospel?" (28:02)
• Vision for Longevity
  • Kevin Doyle: "How do we ensure that places that don't have the resources right now can continue to serve that role and then continue to serve those communities forever?" (40:29)
• On Sacrificial Giving
  • Kevin: “During the housing recession in 2008... he [Bill Pulte] took out loans to honor commitments and to help the smaller guys... That is sacrifice.” (07:48)
• On Partnership Instead of Control
  • Kevin: "We don't have any interest in running a parish or a school... all we want to do is support and enable, and that's part of choosing to invest and partner with ones... that are already thriving versus ones... that may be a total turnaround story." (42:20)
• On the Source of the Mission
  • Kevin (on his vocational turning point): "It sort of supercharged... in adoration... my first time ever going adoration led me to go meet with a few people... that's how I decided to leave the corporate job I was doing to come do this." (33:48)
• Practical Call to Action
  • Kevin: "Keep it simple. Look at the person right in front of you, right next to you, and what can you do to help them?" (44:59)

Structure of the Catholic Initiative’s Approach

Three Pillars:

1. Restoration: Renovating and preserving physical structures—churches, schools—at high risk but with proven community vitality.
2. Endowment: Establishing financial stability to serve future generations, moving from "patchwork" to lasting sustainability.
3. Mission Support: Enriching the parish/school's role as a vital hub, helping them "stay on mission" and amplifying their positive impact.

(See discussion: 38:32–41:01)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Church Crisis & Need: 00:00 – 01:01, 08:46 – 09:38
• The Catholic Initiative’s Mission: 01:33 – 02:36, 09:39 – 10:39, 39:08 – 41:51
• Foundation & Legacy of Bill Pulte: 03:39 – 05:56
• Innovative Models (St. Anne's, Josephinum, St. John’s Resort): 19:04 – 24:17, 28:39 – 31:40
• Collaboration with Clergy & Lay Experts: 14:15 – 16:16, 42:04 – 43:01
• Vocation & Personal Faith Journey: 33:48 – 35:16
• Practical Discipleship & Final Reflections: 44:59 – 45:59

Final Reflections & Takeaways

• The Catholic Initiative isn’t about rescuing declining parishes or schools, but empowering those already bearing fruit but lacking resources to reach their full potential—and to keep doing so for generations.
• It’s a model that invites excellence, risk, bold investment, and deep partnership, always rooted in faith and directed toward making Christ present in the world.
• Every listener is invited to join in—by using their unique talents, investing in flourishing Catholic communities, or simply serving the person right in front of them. As Fr. Mike closes: "Every single one of us is called, just like Kevin said, to take that step to love the people in front of us, to be the hands and the feet, the heart and the face of Jesus in this world." (45:59)

If you want to learn more about the Catholic Initiative or how to serve the Church for generations, visit Ascension’s website or look for more episodes of Called with Fr. Mike Schmitz.