Lucio Caruso was pretty happy living in Michigan, where he had lived since moving there from Italy when he was 18 months old. His sons and grandchildren were there. His work was there. And then?

“I got a call from an agency in Louisville. God brought me here.”

Even so, Lucio wasn’t working with the new agency very long before he realized “this is not who I am.” Soon he found himself looking for a new position in corporate America. And that’s when he got a phone call from Catholic Charities of Louisville.

“I owe a lot of things to someone at Catholic Charities,” he says with a smile. “And that is Bart Weigel.” Bart was looking for someone to manage a temporary initiative to corral resources and make them available to people hurt by the recession. That was 12 years ago.

While that assignment was, indeed, temporary, it led to others with Catholic Charities, including bringing together the case management facet of CCL’s programs, starting the staff care initiative, working in advancement (the groundwork for development) and mission integration, and, today, directing the work of the Mission Department.

“It’s always been more than just a job,” he says. “I’m a bringer together-er, and I feel like I have done that here.”

Today marks Lucio’s last day with Catholic Charities, as he has accepted an assignment of permanent deacon at his home parish of St. Ignatius Martyr. There he will build up their community of faith by engaging people of different cultures. “I want to ignite Ignatius! I want all people to see themselves reflected there!”

When asked about his hobbies, Lucio actually includes talking in his list. “I love to talk,” he laughs. “I love to preach. I love to paint with words.”

Lucio also loves to sing, as anyone who has shared office space with him will know. His musical taste is broad and varied, depending on his mood. He enjoys music from the late 60s, 70s rhythm and blues, Motown, and Italian opera. He listens to “the great musicals” like Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Cats, and appreciates country music from the 60s. (“Have you ever heard Skeeter Davis sing The End of the World? Oh you have to listen to it!”) When he wants to relax, he tunes in Celtic and pan flute selections.

Lucio enjoys walking and hiking, to music, of course. He has a favorite tree on one of his walk routes, where he often pauses to let the trunk support him. He also enjoys reading and learning, and is especially passionate about cosmology and astrology and how they show the harmony of faith and science.

Lucio says he loves nature and has been a vegetarian for the last seven years because of that love. “I understand more and more that everything is connected. The animals in nature are my brother and sister. I refuse to eat my friends. My goal is to walk more gently on this earth.”

Lucio uses the word “love” a lot, and that, too, is no surprise to anyone who knows him. He’s like love on two feet. We love you, Lucio, and wish you all the best in igniting Ignatius!