Rev Fr. Phillip Schmitter, currently assigned to Christ the King Catholic Church. He has spent nearly 50 years of his life serving Flint's catholic community at a variety of churches. His career has been marked by his passion and devotion to serving the poor. In the finest of Catholic traditions, Father Phil has been a fierce advocate for Flint's minority community on such issues as environmental racism, poverty, hunger and seeking dignity for those who are the least among us. His work is legendary in Flint's minority community. He lived in public housing in Flint for three decades to be closer to the people he wanted to serve.
Father Phil currently serves at Christ the King Catholic Church in Flint, Michigan, a church founded by Father Norman DuKette.
In this interview Father Phil discusses his life and his career as a priest. He was raised in Mason, Michigan where coincidentally Malcolm X was sent to live as a teenager. Father Phil recounts that his inspiration to serve the minority community by reading the best selling autobiography of Malcolm X. His life history is the epitome of a devoted priest whose love for the people he serves drives him to serve their spiritual needs as well as advocating for social justice.
More on the life story of Father Phillip Schmitter'
https://www.thehubflint.com/lessons-malcolm-x-made-father-schmitter-champion-diversity-racial-tolerance/
https://nypost.com/2019/12/09/us-catholic-priests-overworked-beset-by-isolation-and-scandal/
More on Christ the King Catholic Church and Father DuKette the first black priest in Michigan:
https://faithmag.com/black-history-diocese-lansing
