Beginning October 22, a 30-day podcast hosted by Fr. Mike Schmitz will guide Catholics through the second-most-read Catholic devotional ever written, next to only the Bible.

Ascension, the Catholic media company behind the Apple-chart-topping podcast The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)®, has announced a new season for its popular Catholic Classics podcast. Season 4 of Catholic Classics will begin on October 22, with Fr. Mike Schmitz reading and giving commentary on The Imitation of Christ in 30 daily episodes.

Following the format from previous years, each daily episode will feature the reading of a section of the book, as well as helpful Catholic commentary that gives context to the content and unpacks its mysteries. This year, first-time host Fr. Mike Schmitz brings the same energy and expertise that he showed in The Bible in a Year to Catholic Classics.

In an interview announcing the podcast, Fr. Mike speaks of the impact that The Imitation of Christ had on his own spiritual life at the time when he began taking his faith more seriously:

“ As a high schooler, I had my initial conversion to the Lord…  One of the things that was such a burning desire on my heart was I wanted to have some kind of mentor—I wanted to have some kind of person who could show me how to live as a disciple of Jesus in the world right now, but I just didn't feel like I had one. Books were so critical for me, and [The Imitation of Christ] is one of those books.”

New Ascension Edition of The Imitation of Christ Available for Purchase

Ascension’s edition of The Imitation of Christ features expert commentary, as well as an exclusive  English translation by Fr. Dylan Schrader which is faithful to the original translation, yet accessible for today’s reader.

The exclusive and original edition of The Imitation of Christ is the only translation that will be read on this season of Catholic Classics, and is full of valuable content including: 

• A leatherlike cover with stunning foil stamped lettering

• A ribbon bookmark to help readers keep their place 

• A beautiful sacred art insert of Christ the King from Ascension’s Holy Men and Women Sacred Art Collection by Tianna Williams

• An informative introduction to set the stage for the reader

• Expert commentary that draws out the deeper spiritual lessons contained within the book.

A Facebook Group for Catholic Classics

In addition to the podcast audience, a particularly dedicated Facebook Group with 7,500 members will closely follow along with the podcast. Facilitated by Ascension, the group members will have a space to discuss and share their insights from The Imitation of Christ.

New Sacred Art of Christ the King

To honor Christ the King and the far-reaching impact of The Imitation of Christ, Ascension commissioned Catholic artist Tianna Williams to create new sacred imagery of Christ the King to add to the company's growing collection of original Sacred Art. This beautiful devotional image of Jesus features him holding the reed that the soldiers presented him during his Passion after they had crowned him with thorns.

This image is included in the Ascension Edition of The Imitation of Christ above. It is additionally available as a 24" x 30" canvas print for communities, as an 8" x 10", 11" x 14", and 16" x 20" photo print for individuals and families.

You can find more information about Catholic Classics, Season 4: The Imitation of Christ at www.AscensionPress.com/CatholicClassics. 

About Fr. Mike Schmitz

Fr. Mike Schmitz, a Catholic priest and evangelist well known for his social media videos and podcasts, hosted the 2021 breakout podcast The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™, which became the #1 podcast on the Apple charts after its January 2021 launch, and is the most popular Catholic podcast of all time. The Bible in a Year was Chartable’s #1 global podcast in religion for several years, and was covered by news outlets including CBS, Fox, and The New York Times Magazine.

For the impact of The Bible in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike was recognized as one of Our Sunday Visitor’s 2021 Catholics of the Year as well as a recipient of the 2022 Cardinal John P. Foley Award for excellence and innovation in Catholic storytelling. He is an internationally beloved Catholic speaker, and has spoken to hundreds of crowds ranging from his local Catholic parish to the National Eucharistic Congress audience of 50,000.

Fr. Mike is the director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth as well as the chaplain for the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD). Fr. Mike attended St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and was ordained for the Diocese of Duluth in 2003.

About Ascension

Ascension is a multimedia network and the leader in Catholic faith formation and digital content. Over the past 25 years, Ascension has helped nurture the faith of over 20 million Catholics through award-winning books, the chart-topping Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)® podcast, more than 50 unique faith formation programs, and the Ascension Presents media and YouTube platforms.

Media Contact

For media inquiries, contact (800) 376-0520 or Newsroom@AscensionPress.com.