Michael Schattle spent his adult life as a missionary — first, in a traditional sense, as a FOCUS Catholic missionary, then, through active involvement in young adult communities.

At the age of thirty-three, on December 2, 2024, Michael died unexpectedly. In the week following, friends of Michael — from multiple states and walks of life — swarmed the DFW area in the hundreds for his funeral.

As an immigration lawyer, Michael was successful in his law practice. But it wasn’t his secular accomplishments that summoned individuals from the plains of Kansas and the mountains of Tennessee.

Rather, it was the witness of his pursuit of sainthood — and his joy within community life, which was ever-present in his race towards heaven.

His Life

By his 20s, Michael was a man of many hobbies. He loved sports and athletic activities — especially dancing, climbing, running, and playing soccer.

If he wasn’t holding a soccer ball, he was holding a stack of books. A “thinker,” he was well-read and enjoyed discussing history, philosophy, and theology. In recent years, he even dabbled in the banjo and liked to sing.

But his real love was his Catholic faith and active participation in community life, said his father, Paul.

Born on March 2, 1991, in San Antonio, Texas, Michael was the oldest of four children.

He was a quiet, thoughtful child who enjoyed playing soccer and challenging his family to board games. A “brainy” kid, he did well in school, but often struggled with procrastination, his parents noted.

In high school, he earned the National Merit Finalist designation and attended Baylor University on a full scholarship.

His junior year, he studied abroad in Italy, pursuing credits for his degree in Latin language and literature. But, he came home from Italy with more than just a few academic credits on his transcript.

Michael changed dramatically during his time studying abroad, his father said. During his time in Italy, Michael became deeply invested in his Catholic faith, he said.

His newly-renewed Catholic faith was the “biggest driver for him,” and “he blossomed,” said his father, Paul. “He always was a great kid, but he became more outgoing,” he added.

After experiencing a deepening of his faith, Michael joined FOCUS Catholic as a college missionary — to the surprise of his parents. His decisions became “focused on enriching his faith and the faith of others,” said his father.

Michael served as a FOCUS missionary at the University of Kansas from 2013 to 2015 and at Vanderbilt University from 2015 to 2016.

In 2016, Michael moved to Austin, Texas to attend the University of Texas School of Law. During his time in Austin, Michael — with a few others — organically founded a young adult community in Austin.

In 2020, Michael moved to Dallas, Texas to pursue a career in immigration law, and worked as the associate director of immigration legal services for Church World Service. In Dallas, Michael became involved with Communion and Liberation, an international Catholic movement.

Charism of Hospitality

Michael and hospitality went hand-in-hand, his friends agreed.

“Michael — as I experienced him — always had a charism of hospitality – he was always inviting people, bringing people into the fold,” said Jose Rodriguez, a close friend.

Michael didn’t have an overly extroverted personality, his friends noted. He just had a gift for welcoming people.

“He was the one who got people together — that was his gift,” explained Alex Lohn, a close friend and former housemate.

Michael loved to host — and wasn’t afraid to throw a large party, which was often inspired by an idea he had, his friends said.

On one such occasion, Michael planned a huge crawfish boil, Alex said. Several people — including himself — drove a few hours to come, he noted.

Michael often took on big challenges while hosting, such as cooking complicated meals for large groups of people, his father said.

On the occasion of his crawfish boil, his father said, “He really didn’t have much of a clue on how to do it, but just the number of people that showed up and their full-throated endorsement of his ‘skills’ was amazing.”

Michael was also known for hosting Easter Vigil parties — alongside Jose — which brought out more than 50 attendees.

“Those were some of the best parties I’ve ever attended in my life,” said Cody Crosby, a close friend and former housemate. At his parties, Michael was able to organically bring many young people together — who sometimes had “polar opposite personalities”  — just for “the joy and love of friendship,” he said.

Michael’s interest in hosting wasn’t about drawing attention to himself, said Faith Noah, a friend. After his passing, she was looking through her photos and videos of Michael’s parties when she realized something, she said.

The spotlight was never on him, she said. “He never wanted it to be about himself and would willingly stay in the background,” she added. “I realized that he just provided and facilitated an environment where other people’s gifts could come to the light.”

He just “put everything into motion,” she said.

Michael Schattle: A Man of Action

Along with the gift of hospitality, Michael possessed an aptitude for taking action.

As a FOCUS missionary, Michael “didn’t struggle with progressing forward with something,” said Mónica Ramón, one of Michael’s missionary teammates at Vanderbilt. When the team was considering a decision, “Michael was like, ‘This is what we should do,’ ” and would do it, she said.

During his third year as a missionary, Michael pursued the next steps for his career by studying for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) — and did so without neglecting his responsibilities as a missionary and teammate, she said.

Even his pursuit to study law was an active response to an injustice he perceived in the legal system, said Jose. “He felt like he needed to do something about it — that’s just who he was,” he said.

“He was fast to do something,” especially if it was “for the kingdom,” Jose added. “When we identified needs, Michael really stepped up. He had the heart to respond.”

When Michael came up with an idea, it would happen within a few weeks, Alex similarly noted.

“He was full of action,” and his leadership in the young adult community is a testament to that, he added.

A Heart for Community

As a law student, Michael made his faith and his involvement in community life a priority. Leaving his role as a full-time missionary, he invested his attention in Austin’s young adult community.

He had seen how formational FOCUS could be for university-aged Catholics, and recognized a lack of support for young, working Catholics in the Austin area, said Cody. Seeing the need, he used his mission background to take action.

Michael consciously sought to transform the young adult community at his parish — Saint Mary Catholic Cathedral in Austin — using his experience on mission as a guide, he said.

Alongside Jose, Michael drafted a document outlining a vision for the parish’s young adult ministry — complete with a stated purpose, strategy and goal initiatives.

Over time, the “Cathedral Young Adults (CYA)” group grew as Michael invited people into the community, and into relationships with each other, Cody said.

“I would say almost all of the friends that I have in central Texas — 90% — I can trace in some way to Michael. He either organized the event or introduced me,” said Cody. “He is the one who found my now-wife at Mass and invited her to one of our gatherings,” he added.

“Everyone is connected to [the] cathedral or to the church through Michael,” Faith similarly said. Faith directed CYA after Michael moved to Dallas, she noted.

“He was so crucial in the lives of so many people, whether that’s relationships that went on to marriage or ministries that now serve hundreds,” Faith said.

The CYA community has grown to include about 200 regular members — and over 800 young adults who have opted-in to receive weekly communication about the ministry’s upcoming events.

The structure of CYA that exists presently has Michael’s fingerprints all over it, Faith said.

His vision was the foundation and momentum for the ministry, she said. “He created all of these things. . . There are so many people who don’t even know that they’re building off of what he made,” said Faith.

The community is “deeply indebted to him,” said Cody. “It’s impossible to overstate his impact on the Austin community,” he said.

After moving to Dallas, Michael pursued community life through involvement with Communion and Liberation, a Catholic lay association. He attended weekly meetings — known as “School of Community” within the movement — for fellowship and formation, and would host and attend informal gatherings with other participants, said Irene and John Royals, friends who met Michael through the association.

“The community aspect [of Communion and Liberation] was really attractive to Michael,” said Irene Royals. “He was a man that had a very strong sense of community and a strong desire to have deep and meaningful connections with people,” John Royals added.

As an active participant in the community, Michael was others-oriented, they noted. “He was a bridge in a lot of ways between people. He went out of his way to invite others into whatever we were doing,” said Irene Royals.

Life on Mission

Michael showed the world that living a life of virtue was not incompatible with having fun, his friends said.

“He showed me you can live in the world and participate in the world without being consumed by those things,” Cody said. “The mark he left was that you could be fun and devout,” Alex similarly noted.

By being “in the world,” Michael was able to develop relationships with non-religious people, as well as Catholics who were not practicing, and often invited them to events with the Catholic community, Alex said. At Michael’s funeral, several individuals shared that Michael’s invitations were a large influence in their return to Catholicism, he said.

“He had so much fun and he connected so many people and helped people make such crucial memories,” said Faith. “Michael showed me that a life of pursuing sainthood isn’t necessarily as boring as you might imagine it to be. It really shows me what modern day pursuit of sainthood looks like,” said Faith.

Michael was “funny” and “entertaining,” said Father Aaron Waldeck, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, who was a student at the University of Kansas while Michael served as a missionary.

“The closer he got to Jesus, the more he became himself,” said Father Waldeck. “He really helped me to come to see — through Bible study and our friendship — that living life with Jesus, going on this adventure is worth it. It’s worth saying ‘yes’ to,” Father Waldeck said.

Michael helped encourage his religious vocation, he noted, often inviting him to prayer. “I was living a lot of fear in stepping out — applying to seminary,” he noted.

Struggling Well

Although he was a good man, Michael wasn’t perfect, said his mother, Susan Schattle. “He had his struggles, but he kept plugging on and doing the best he could,” she said.

As Michael sought to live a life of virtue, he lived through the struggles that most young adults face, such as mental health, unemployment, and loneliness, Jose noted. He had difficulty gaining employment after graduating law school, and struggled with his mental health at that time, he added.

But he lived his struggles well, said Jose. “I think he’s a great example for people today. He lived all of those struggles and was willing to do it well and bring life out of those struggles, those crosses,” he said.

“Michael’s entire way of being alive in the world is a testament to the joy you have as a Christian,” Faith similarly said. “There was still struggle and hardship for him — that I saw as his friend,” she said. But, he possessed peace and joy, she said.

Intercession

Since his death, Michael’s friends have said they have felt Michael’s presence.

“I have really experienced his intercession,” said Jose. “Since Michael has passed, I have felt an increase of faith, an increase of grace, an increase of the Lord’s presence in my life.”

While still grieving his passing, Faith said that she is consoled knowing that Michael did what he set out to do, and what every individual should strive for — “to live a life of ministry, and then, when the Lord’s ready, to prepare ourselves for heaven,” she said.

“‘That’s why he did everything that he did,” she said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was a saint one day,” said Faith.  

An Invitation to Holiness

Michael’s life gave testimony to the universal call to holiness. He lived a life of missionary discipleship — welcoming, serving and inviting others into an encounter with Christ. Through the witness of Michael’s day-to-day life in community, we are reminded that holiness is not a goal for the few; rather, it’s an invitation for each one of us.

Curtis Martin, founder of FOCUS, shares:

“Michael lived an exemplary life of missionary discipleship. His joy, faith, and commitment to others flowed from his deep relationship with Jesus Christ. We pray that his missionary spirit lives on in all of us — inspiring us to call others deeper into friendship with Christ and His Church.”

Curtis Martin, founder of FOCUS

A Glimpse Of Michael Schattle’s Life