I didnt know there were any high school seminaries left.
There are a few. Chicago and Brooklyn, I believe have the only two diocesan ones. Perhaps New York? The others are run by religious orders and, I think, most tend to be live in on campus sites rather than commuter schools like Quigley and the typical American high school.
For those who are not familiar with high school seminaries, they were once (not too long ago) prevalent around the country. Many dioceses and religious orders had one.
The traditional way that most men would make it to priesthood was via Catholic grammar school, seminary high school (usually called “minor” seminary), then philosophical and theological studies at the “major” seminary. They were known as “lifers” and anyone who was a “late vocation” entering by some other path was unusual. In Chicago, at least, such men were referred to as “specials”, as they needed special attention and were notably special for their uniqueness in coming to the call.
Over recent decades, the changing nature of society and the Church was such that vocations diminished and finances were hard pressed. So it became easy to shut down the minor seminaries. Also, the phenomenon of college seminaries began to sprout up and more men entered at that point rather than through the traditional route. In fact, nowadays there are an increasing number of college seminaries opening.
Quigley, actually, which had once been a five year program leading into seven years at Mundelein, was in the early 60s divided into two campuses (North and South); so signifigant was it’s enrollment. The five years were shortened to a traditional four, and a two year junior college (Niles) was added. Major seminary became six years of formation and study.
Eventually, Niles partnered with Loyola University Chicago and became a four year college where one could major in the arts or sciences while earning the requisite philosophical credits. The major seminary theologate remained as a 4 year program at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary (more commonly known as Mundelein, where it is located - the town being named after our Cardinal Archbishop who founded the seminary.)
In 1990 Quigley was again restructured. Financial pressures, declining vocations, and enrollment concerns at the North campus led to a closing of both Quigley North and South. The South campus was sold off to St. Rita High School. Many of the students from Quigley South remained there and enrolled at St. Rita’s. A good deal of others left to pursue other paths. Some came over to the old campus (which had become Quigley North in the restructuring of the 60s) and the newly formed “Archbishop Quigley” Preparatory Seminary. Students from Q-North also had the option of transferring to another school (as quite a few did) or sticking it out under the new administration and school restructuring. This is the seminary as it stands today in outgrowth.
I should note that in the early 90’s Niles College campus was sold off to developers and a village park district, while the college seminary moved to and old dorm on the Lakeshore campus of Loyola. Similarly to the then recent Quigley situation, students enrolled at Niles (many of them the same ones who stuck it out in the Quigley restructuring) had the option of making the move or moving on. (Is it any wonder that not many guys moved onto the major seminary for a few years after all that trial?) The new facility and administration was renamed St. Joseph’s Seminary.
The building in which Quigley is now located was constructed in roughly 1917 with it being finished over time and having a west wing added about ten years later…all under the leadership of Cardinal Mundelein. It was a notably beuatiful and groundbreaking building for it’s time. It is still notably beautiful (and a gem of Chicago Architechture, particularly the chapel), though in some ways now antiquated. Previous to it’s construction, the original high school seminary of which the present campus is a later fulfillment, and the first seminary program in Chicago - predating the establishment of a major seminary by 20 years - was founded by Archbishop Quigley in 1905. It’s location was a few blocks from today’s well known “Rush and Chestnut”, and it was known by the name “Cathedral College”.
So there you have it. Quigley has been the seedbed of vocations in Chicago for more than 100 years! It will hopefully continue to exist by some incarnation for more 100 years yet to be seen. For it is through Quigley that we have founded and continued a native priesthood which helped perpetuate and today serves a thriving Archdiocese of Chicago.
