Among the adherents of the Catholic faith, there is a generation of millennial priests who are abiding by Pope Francis’s request to evangelize with joy and employ innovation and creativity in reaching out to people at their most vulnerable. Among the new socially progressive priests is Father Andrew Schumacher, 33, pastor of St. John the Evangelist in Mermentau and St. Margaret Catholic Church in Estherwood, who last year rode a scooter in the car line to greet students of Cathedral-Carmel School on their first day of school. 

Ordained in 2018, the Crowley native was first assigned as parochial vicar at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Lafayette, where for three years he formed important bonds with students and found creative ways to influence their faith formation.

At Cathedral Carmel, he challenged 5th through 8th graders to abstain from social media until they graduated from 8th grade in a campaign called “Look Up.” With a surprising 80 percent participation rate, students reported more frequent prayer time, closer relationships with their friends and siblings, improved sleep and better grades. The program was so successful that Father Schumacher was asked to bring students to give their testimonies to their peers at Our Lady of Fatima School and St. Cecilia Catholic School. 

A strong advocate of parents monitoring their children’s phones, he agrees with studies that show viewing improper images on social media can rob children of their purity. “There’s also bullying online,” he adds. “And, we can never reach the pinnacle of beauty they think they see in other people through social media.”

Instead he advises “listening to the whispers of the Lord” telling us to read a certain book, go to a holy hour, attend a retreat or visit a priest. From his own experiences and testimonies from others he shares, “You might hear clear directives or a feeling of comfort and confidence that comes only through silence and waiting. There’s a lot of distraction in prayer, like a static radio when you’re trying to tune into a channel. Then there’s a movement in your heart and you experience peace, a sense that the message is from God.”  

Now also chaplain at St. Thomas More Catholic High School (STM), Father Schumacher is on familiar ground, having traveled with students on the “March for Life” for the past 10 years, since he was a seminarian. Talking about his work with teens, he says, “They need confidence in their identity. They need to know that they are a child of God, and that comes with having a real relationship before they can figure out what He’s calling them to do. So many students associate their identity with what their friends think or their contributions to a sport.”

He speaks from experience, having played sports, dated, traveled the world, envisioned himself married with children, before choosing a marriage to the Church. 

“As priests, we want to be approachable, like the Lord was; people felt comfortable approaching him.  I want students to grow knowing that even in their worst sins they feel comfortable picking up the phone to call me. I want them to see me at the baseball games, on the sidelines on Friday nights and at school plays.” To appreciate that goal is to know the demanding work and prayer schedule of a priest.

His days start before 6 a.m. with 30-minute prayer time in the chapel of the rectory. Guided by an acronym he calls TRIP he shares, “It stands for Thanks, Repentance (in areas of missed opportunities), Intercession (specific prayers for people, like a mother in Mermentau who has breast cancer, for a couple who are trying to conceive, for the wholeness of parishioners and purity of students) and personal Prayers (whether to help me prepare for a big talk or retreat or for a specific virtue that I can improve in myself.) Daily morning mass is at 6:30 or 7 a.m. depending on the day. Breakfast is often incorporated with meetings across the table at Another Broken Egg or Edie’s in Lafayette – or a bite at a friend’s home. Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy days in Mermentau with meetings, scheduling events for the parish, signing checks, dealing with maintenance issues, getting quotes for repairs (or a new roof), planning the next holy hour and speaker series, CCD classes… As he reminds, “Being a priest is a business too.” But he quickly adds, “‘I love being a pastor at St. John’s in Mermentau and St. Margaret; their openness to life means a lot to me.” Wednesdays are spent at STM hearing confessions and on Fridays he prays the 7 a.m. mass at the school’s chapel, followed by a holy hour there. Visits to the classrooms allow for a short homily or motivational talk. And you’ll often find Father at many of the sports practices. 

Between all of that, there are marriages, christenings, unexpected funerals to attend and sick parishioners to visit. Of course, masses are on weekends, and in the days leading to that, there’s time spent preparing his homily. Not much of a cook, Father Schumacher relishes the dinner invitations he gets from parishioners, and he cherishes time with his own family once a week. 

Monday is a day off, a time he often spends at his family’s camp at False River to rest in nature. But there are also tennis, pickleball or basketball league games played with fellow priests. Maintaining old friendships is important to a priest and Father Schumacher remains close with brothers from his Kappa Sigma fraternity, many of them parishioners at Cathedral. He also looks forward to a trip that he and six high school friends take each year.

Another favorite trip is the annual “10,000 Feet in Colorado.” A Christ-centered team building camp for incoming juniors and seniors from STM. “It brings students to reconciliation and healing while being in one of the most beautiful places in the country,” says Father Schumacher. “We experience white water rafting, rock climbing, a ropes course, we have mass on a summit, then a nightly retreat talking about the cross and resurrection, and we share our best and worst days. You’re gonna fall in high school. I lived through that and made my mistakes, but I had good people in my life who helped me return to the Lord and recognized that sin doesn’t define me.” 

He quotes a favorite line from St. Bernard of Clairvaux: “’A saint in the making is not someone who never sins, but someone who sins less and less frequently, and gets up more and more quickly.’  That’s my hope for the students – and for all of us. That the falls are less frequent and when they do happen, we go back to our Lord quicker each time. When we continue on that path, the sins that we do comment once a week begin to happen maybe once a month and then, hopefully, once a year.”