Quigley Seminary to close in June ’07

Quigley Seminary to close in June ’07

By Michelle Martin
Staff writer

In the days after students and staff at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary found out that this year will be the school’s last, the business of teaching and learning, praying and serving, went on.

But it was not business as usual at the high school seminary, one of only a handful left in the United States.

The students—all Catholic boys from the Archdiocese of Chicago who professed themselves open to the idea of considering whether they have a vocation to the priesthood—talked amongst themselves, with teachers and alumni, and tried to understand why the school will close.

“It has such a long history,” said senior Bob Cummings of Chicago. “It’s so much different from any other Catholic school.”

The school has a sense of family,released to media, archdiocesan officials said, “The changing patterns of vocation discernment has had a great impact in the ability to maintain a high school seminary program. For many years Quigley has been one of the few high school seminary preparatory schools in the United States. Declining numbers of students, along with growing costs per student associated with operating Quigley, have also led to this difficult but necessary decision.”

This year, Quigley has 183 students, down from about 218 two years ago. Since 1990, it has run an annual deficit of about $1 million, said Father John Canary (Quigley ’61), the archdiocese’s vicar general.

At the same time, only one priest has been ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago who graduated from Quigley, St. Joseph College Seminary and Mundelein Seminary in the last 16 years, Canary said. That was Father Pawel Komperda, who was ordained in May. A study of students two years ago showed that only about 20 percent were truly open to the priesthood, Canary said.

Current students point out that Quigley—while it has a long tradition—was reconstituted in 1990, so it has existed in its current form for only 16 years—and that it takes at least eight years of study after high school to be eligible for ordination. Seven Quigley graduates now attend St. Joseph College Seminary and another four are studying theology at Mundelein Seminary or in Rome.

The archdiocese will continue to work to help young people in the Archdiocese of Chicago listen for God’s call to the priesthood and religious life, Canary said, including the creation of “Quigley Scholars,” a program open to students at any high school who are considering the priesthood, including those currently at Quigley.

Father Peter Sneig, the rector, said other Catholic schools have contacted him to offer help placing students, and alums are offering support and prayers.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “But people have been good to me, personally, and to us.”

Quigley was founded as Cathedral College of the Sacred Heart in 1905 by Chicago Archbishop James E. Quigley. Ground was broken on the current site at Rush and Chestnut Streets in Chicago in 1916, under the leadership of Archbishop George Mundelein.

By 1922, the minor seminary had more than 600 students—a number that increased to more than 1,300 by the 1950s. In 1961, the archdiocese opened a new high school seminary on the South Side of Chicago, Quigley South, and rechristened the original high school seminary Quigley North.

But by 1989, numbers had declined precipitously, and the archdiocese formally closed both high school seminaries and reopened a reconstituted Quigley in 1990.

The archdiocese has announced plans to spend the year following the closure to remodel Quigley’s buildings to use them as the new archdiocesan pastoral center.

Current students said they are glad the building will remain, but it won’t be the same.

“We won’t be able to come back and see our teachers or anything,” said senior Danny Zaparaniuk. “I’m going to be the last one to get a Quigley diploma.”

Arguelles might be the last Quigley priest. He chose Quigley, he said, because he had seen the close-knit atmosphere, but also because he thought he might be called to be a priest.

It’s a vocation he’s still considering, even though he is angry.

“It’s like somebody taking the rug out from under you,” he said.

students said. It was that, more than the 102-year tradition of high school seminary education in Chicago, that led to the shock when Auxiliary Bishop Francis Kane (Quigley ’61) addressed the students during eighth period in the chapel Sept. 19.

“There was not one dry eye in the chapel,” said senior Nick Arguelles of Chicago.

“People were confused,” added Nick Santella, also a senior from Chicago.

The archdiocese announced plans to close the school at the end of the school year shortly after telling the students and teachers. In a statement released to media, archdiocesan officials said, “The changing patterns of vocation discernment has had a great impact in the ability to maintain a high school seminary program. For many years Quigley has been one of the few high school seminary preparatory schools in the United States. Declining numbers of students, along with growing costs per student associated with operating Quigley, have also led to this difficult but necessary decision.”

This year, Quigley has 183 students, down from about 218 two years ago. Since 1990, it has run an annual deficit of about $1 million, even after fundraising income and interest from the school’s endowment are factored in, said Father John Canary (Quigley ’61), the archdiocese’s vicar general.

At the same time, only one priest has been ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago who graduated from Quigley, St. Joseph College Seminary and Mundelein Seminary in the last 16 years, Canary said. That was Father Pawel Komperda, who was ordained in May. A study of students two years ago showed than only about 20 percent were truly open to the idea of the priesthood, Canary said.

“There’s a sense that it’s mission wasn’t being fulfilled,” Canary said.

Current students point out that Quigley—while it has a long tradition—was reconstituted in 1990, so it has existed in its current form for only 16 years—and that it takes at least eight years of study after high school to be eligible for ordination. Seven Quigley graduates now attend St. Joseph College Seminary and another four are studying theology at Mundelein Seminary or in Rome.

The archdiocese will continue to work to help young people in the Archdiocese of Chicago listen for God’s call to the priesthood and religious life, Canary said, including the creation of “Quigley Scholars,” a program open to students at any high school who are considering the priesthood, including those currently at Quigley.

Father Peter Sneig, the rector, said other Catholic schools have contacted him to offer help placing students, and alums are offering support and prayers.

“It’s going to be tough,” he said. “But people have been good to me, personally, and to us.”

Quigley was founded as Cathedral College of the Sacred Heart in 1905 by Chicago Archbishop James E. Quigley. Ground was broken on the current side at Rush and Chestnut Streets in Chicago in 1916, under the leadership of Archbishop George Mundelein.

By 1922, the minor seminary had more than 600 students—a number that increased to more than 1,300 by the 1950s. In 1961, the archdiocese opened a new high school seminary on the South Side of Chicago, Quigley South, and rechristened the original high school seminary Quigley North.

But by 1989, numbers had declined precipitously, and the archdiocese formally closed both high school seminaries and reopened a reconstituted Quigley in 1990.

The archdiocese has announced plans to spend the year following the closure to remodel Quigley’s historic buildings to use them as the new archdiocesan pastoral center.

Current students said they are glad the building will remain, but it won’t be the same.

“We won’t be able to come back and see our teachers or anything,” said senior Danny Zaparaniuk. “I’m going to be the last one to get a Quigley diploma.”

Arguelles might be the last Quigley priest. He chose Quigley, he said, because he had seen the close-knit atmosphere when his brother was a student, but also because he thought he might called to be a priest.

It’s a vocation he’s still considering, even though he is angry.

“It’s like somebody taking the rug out from under you,” he said.