Body of Christ

Michael Schulze learned about Legatus, a national business leaders’ group that focuses on living the Catholic faith in and out of the workplace, in 2013. He and his wife have been active with it ever since and he received a national award for his leadership of the Milwaukee chapter.

  • Schulze and his wife, Kimberley, have been married for nearly 32 years, and they have four adult children, one daughter-in-law, one grandson and one granddaughter on the way.
  • He retired in 2022 as partner/principal at Ernst and Young in the technology consulting services practice and now serves on advisory boards and business development for local businesses.
  • Schulze is a past president of the Milwaukee chapter of Legatus, and he and his wife are members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
  • He is involved with Men of Christ programs, including the annual “Aiming for Christ” father/son clay shooting event which will be Oct. 18 this year, and the Paratus “Be Prepared” program held in 2024. 

You are past head of the local chapter of a Catholic group called Legatus — what is it and how did you get involved?
I served as the Legatus Milwaukee Chapter president from 2022 to 2024. Legatus, which is Latin for “ambassador,” is a group of more than 5,000 Catholic business leaders and spouses in more than 95 chapters across the United States and Canada. It was founded by Tom Monaghan and received papal approval in 1987.

How did you join?
We became members after I had a chance in 2013 to hear Mr. Monaghan explain the mission of Legatus. He wanted an organization of Catholic ambassadors in the workplace, saying those with senior leadership roles in mid/larger companies should be bolder in taking their Catholic faith to work and sharing it. I was completely impressed, and I suggested to my wife that we join. We’ve booked our calendars for the monthly Thursday night meeting dates ever since. It is a great way to have a date with your spouse, receive some excellent catechesis and sacraments, and surround yourself with like-minded people living out their faith. It is a safe harbor in the sea of secularism.

Earlier this year, you received Legatus’ 2024 National President of the Year Award in part due to membership growth and retention. Can you share more about that?
This award came to me as a total surprise. It was truly a humbling experience. We have an awesome Milwaukee chapter with a very nice blend of new and existing members. Over the past couple of years, we have been on a growth spurt with more than 13 new member couples joining our Legatus family. We now have more than 40 couples in the chapter and growing — please reach out to milwaukee@legatus.org if you might have interest and we’d be happy to discuss the program more with you.

What is something that inspires you?
Certainly, our Catholic faith is an inspiration, and as part of our faith – and outside of it as well — music is a real inspiration to me. For me, it creates a mood, bends a thought toward it, motivates me to action, and generally shapes the moment in which it is heard. Some would say that I have no real taste in music because I listen to so many varieties including zydeco, R and B, rock and roll, Gregorian chant, symphonic, country and everything in between.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received or that you generally give?
You’re never too old to learn something new — I try to do that every day. Of course, another one that worked well for me at work and at home was “bad news doesn’t get better with time” so it’s best to work to air it out and find a resolution sooner than later — same theme probably also applies to confession, too.

What is your proudest accomplishment?
It would be the family that my wife and I have been blessed to have together. We are fortunate to have been able to remain close to our children and watch them grow into young adults and parents. None of us are saints, but we are all struggling together in this life to preserve, guard and live our Catholic faith as best we can.

What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I am actually kind of a shy guy despite what people might say about me.

What do you like to do for fun?
Running, golf, relaxing on the patio and “road tripping” across the state and country with my wife.

What book are you reading or podcast are you listening to?
I just finished reading “G.K. Chesterton Ex Libris,” which are his writings compiled by Dale Ahlquist. It’s a great read for someone like me with a short attention span. What a prolific writer and gifted author Chesterton was in getting to a point: “Faith is something superior to reason but not contrary to it,” he said. Such simple wisdom that is hard to find sometimes today.

Do you follow NCAA March Madness? Any favorite teams?
I will follow it and need my sons to get the March Madness pool brackets sent out soon. I will pull for Louisiana State University for my wife but gotta pull for Wisconsin as a homer.