It was only a casual conversation, a nondescript chat between a pastor and a young parishioner. That dialogue between Father Christopher Gustafson, pastor of Our Lady of Ransom in Niles, and Anthony Davies, however, has delivered a powerful, eye-opening experience for the teen. A junior at Notre Dame College Prep in Niles, Davies is in his second year as a Quigley Scholar, an eight-year-old archdiocesan program that supports local high school students interested in learning more about the priesthood. “Father Chris just asked me if I had ever heard of the program,” Davies said of the 2014 conversation. “I went home, looked into it and, as Father Chris told me, I could see I wasn’t the only one in this boat.” Davies calls his two-year experience as a Quigley Scholar “beyond words,” providing him a caring, empathetic environment to discern his vocation alongside like-minded peers. “It’s truly a gift of the Holy Spirit,” he said. Cardinal George created the Quigley Scholars program in 2007 as vocation numbers continued to dwindle. When Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary closed at the conclusion of the 2006-2007 school year, the cardinal’s long-held vision for a “Quigley without walls” accelerated. “The whole thinking was, ‘How can we gather like-minded young men together to discern their vocation?’” said Father Peter Snieg, who was instrumental in creating the program alongside Cardinal George and served as its founding director. Open to teenagers at both public and private Chicago area high schools as well as homeschooled students, the Quigley Scholars program provides young men an open, transparent and compassionate environment to explore the priesthood. To be accepted into the program, a scholar must be a baptized Roman Catholic actively practicing the faith, meet academic criteria, show interest in religious study and provide letters of recommendation from their pastor, a teacher and a family member. Scholars who attend local Catholic high schools, meanwhile, may also apply for a $2,500 annual scholarship to help offset their tuition costs. Throughout the academic year, scholars meet one evening each month at either St. Joseph College Seminary at Loyola University or Mundelein Seminary, where the group attends Mass, shares dinner and participates in faith-sharing sessions with current seminarians. “We took the best of what we were doing with spiritual formation at Quigley and put together a four-year program for high school students,” said Snieg, who recently returned to St. Joseph as rector. “It’s beautiful how these young men develop friendships and learn how they might answer God’s call.” Additionally, scholars make a commitment to pray, attend Mass regularly, participate in youth activities and meet with their priest sponsor on a monthly basis. In many cases, the sponsoring priest helps the scholar get involved with ministry so the student can better understand parish life. “After all, vocations are never just a personal matter and they always involve the greater world around someone,” said Father Michael Scherschel, the program’s current director. From 15 scholars in its first year, the Quigley Scholars Program now includes 56 young men representing 34 local parishes, numbers spurred by the opening of the Mundelein Seminary location last year. Over the last five years, 11 of the scholars have entered St. Joseph College Seminary, while one of the program’s earliest scholars is now continuing his march toward the priesthood at Mundelein Seminary. “We’ve found a formula that works and it’s a genuine environment,” Scherschel said. “Long-term, the goal is certainly to add priests to the Chicago area and to further develop the Catholic culture in the archdiocese.” Putting young men interested in the priesthood side by side to ask questions of program administrators, priests, seminarians and one another, Snieg added, has proven immensely beneficial. Snieg, in fact, called the group “a joyful community of young men open to God’s call.” “So many of these young men feel like they are on an island and that they are the only ones thinking about the priesthood,” Snieg said. “When they’re here, they find there are others like them and that gives them energy.” Davies, who is sponsored by Father Britto Berchmans, pastor of St. Paul of the Cross in Park Ridge, said he’s excited to gather with his fellow Quigley Scholars each month for reflection and prayer. He calls the group’s monthly Mass a “most perfect moment.” “There’s an intimate peace you feel in prayer, especially as we all look at the same God who has called us to be together,” he said.