Is God calling you to be a priest?” Many men are asked this question, but what happens if they respond to God’s call to the priesthood? The path to diocesan priesthood can span anywhere from four to eight years. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, college-aged men who receive the call to be priests may attend St. Joseph College Seminary, located on the campus of Loyola University Chicago. Those who have already graduated from college often attend University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. What do seminarians do? Pray, study and spend time in God’s vineyard learning to care for his people. Along the way, their family and friends will be some of their best supporters. But there is another group of men who are unsung heroes, providing dedicated spiritual and financial support to our seminarians with a flawless record. They are the Knights of Columbus. In 1985, then newly ordained Father Greg Sakowicz challenged (then) Knights of Columbus State Program Director Ron Ziemba, “Ron, what are you going to do to support seminarians?” Ziemba was touched, and with the help of fellow Knight Bob Wagner, they started the Knights of Columbus Illinois State Vocation Support Program. That was 25 years ago, and in that time the Illinois Knights of Columbus has raised $4 million to support archdiocesan seminarians. Several ways to help Exactly how do the Knights support seminarians? The most important element is prayer. Each Knights’ chapter begins their meetings with a prayer for vocations. Individual chapters sponsor specific seminarians with financial support. On their birthdays, the seminarians are remembered by the Knights with a card and a gift. The Illinois Ordo, which guides seminarians through the liturgical year, is part of an annual Christmas gift. “Every year I ask all the archdiocesan vocation directors to send me all the names and contact information for every seminarian. I compile all of this information in a directory and distribute it to over 400 councils throughout Illinois,” Ziemba said. He orchestrates things from the state level and now lives in Plainfield, Ill., but remains close to the Archdiocese of Chicago, where he lived for 30 years. “I’m a firm believer that the Knights and the clergy have always had a close relationship. If we don’t have seminarians, we don’t have priests, we don’t have priests to administer the sacraments to us,” Ziemba said. “When I see a seminarian at St. Joseph’s in the college ranks, I am happy to see them there. When they’re ordained, it brings me the greatest joy.” They are grateful This generosity is felt by the seminarians. “Ron and Diane Ziemba show up for all the major events at the seminary. It is beautiful to have them there supporting and encouraging us,” said seminarian Bobby Krueger. Often the Knights will support seminarians to take a mission trip or to attend a workshop such as a theology of the body course. Other times, the support that they give is completely unsolicited. “They always become instruments of the Lord’s providence when we need it most,” Krueger said. “The sense of financial security that the seminarian feels they have because of the support of the K of C really enables us to pursue our vocation.” James Mueller said the Knights are particularly helpful in subsidizing the seminarians’ health insurance. “If nothing else, we know that they are constantly there to support us, and if they know we need something they’ll find a way to get it to us, basically, if there is a need they’ll fill it.” Writing from the Holy Land where he was on retreat with his seminarian classmates, Tom Byrne e-mailed, “The Knights of Columbus have been an incredible help to me during my time in the seminary in so many ways. From the ‘Welcome Back’ dinner they give us each year at Mundelein to the (annual) Seminary Shootout basketball tournament, they really help to make our life at Mundelein Seminary a more fraternal one and show us their commitment to supporting vocations to the priesthood. Personally, I am very thankful for the councils that have supported me with their donations and especially with their prayers.” As Krueger put it, “Whether it is direct love for the individual seminarian or for the Office of the Priesthood, there is tremendous amounts of love which is the driving force for what they do.”