Lucia Smith of St. Mary School and Teddy Howell of St. Patrick wrote a book, created a podcast inspired by media-savvy priest
NOVI — Two Detroit-area Catholic school students shared the spotlight with their personal hero, Fr. Mike Schmitz, during the F.I.R.E. Conference on April 4 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
Lucia Smith, an eighth-grader from St. Mary Catholic School in Royal Oak, and Theodore "Teddy" Howell, a fifth-grader from St. Patrick School in Carlton, met Fr. Schmitz during the end of the conference.
Lucia wrote a children's book about Fr. Schmitz and his zest for evangelization, while Teddy, inspired by Fr. Schmitz’s award-winning podcast, started his own podcast.
“The book is basically about how he’s a missionary disciple, how he strives for sainthood and all he does and always tries to be evangelizing,” Lucia told Detroit Catholic.
Lucia said her mother started listing to Fr. Schmitz’s "Bible in a Year" podcast, and her class watches his videos, which sparked her interest in the Minnesota priest.
“He just is really welcoming and he smiles so much, and I like how easy it is to learn from him and how he reaches out to new audiences,” Lucia said.
Lucia wrote her 20-page book in a week and was excited to hear she would be able to give Fr. Schmitz a copy in person at the F.I.R.E. conference.
“I was really excited, and I was happy at first when they told me they were going to give him the book, and then I found out later that I was going to give the book in person,” she said.
Teddy gave a small gift to Fr. Schmitz on behalf of the Archdiocese of Detroit and told him about the small podcast series he inspired him to start.
The St. Patrick student started his own podcast, “Kid’s Bible in a Year with Teddy,” which features 26 episodes.
“I was just at school on Tuesday when my mom told me,” Teddy said. “When I spoke with Fr. Schmitz, he liked how I made a podcast just like him. He said it was fantastic. It was an amazing experience.”
