Chicago Archdiocese on a recruitment mission

Over the past seven years, the Chicago Archdiocese suffered a dire drop in recruitment for the priesthood.

Sex scandals rocking the church nationally fed the local decline.

"We're still feeling a backlash in terms of ordination numbers -- especially with local men," said the Rev. Joseph Noonan, the archdiocese's vocation director.

Of the 13 priests ordained in Chicago last year, 11 were from outside the United States, Noonan said. Just one was from Illinois.

From his first days leading the vocation office in 2001, it was clear to Noonan the archdiocese's old system of recruitment wasn't working.

"We had long been in the mindset that the (high school) seminary system was the only route to producing priests."

The outdated approach ended with the closing of the Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary last year.

Still, that end provided a much-needed catalyst to restructure recruitment efforts.

Quigley's $6 million endowment was used to re-establish the archdiocese's vocation office in July.

Now, the archdiocese has finished rebuilding its vocation program, led by Noonan, with a new emphasis on local recruitment.

Much of the new campaign is based on the successful strategies of the much-smaller Rockford Diocese, which ordained seven local men last year.

In the past decade, the Rockford diocese has quadrupled its group of seminarians to nearly 50 men.

The Rev. Aaron Brodeski, Rockford's vocation director, attributes much of that success to annual summer camps -- attended by as many as 75 young men interested in the priesthood. Organized by seminarians, activities include daily Mass, talks on vocation discernment, football games and daily hikes.

"I think that's the key. If they can see the seminarians are pretty normal guys, then thinking about becoming a priest is not nearly as intimidating," Brodeski said.

"Going to the seminary should not feel like you're signing your life away," he said.

The camps are joined by a billboard, radio and television advertising campaign. Each ad urges viewers and listeners to consider the priesthood.

Josh Buenrostro, an 18-year-old from Batavia, is in his first year of seminary studies with the Rockford Diocese.

Graduating from Batavia High School last June, he now attends St. Gregory the Great Seminary in Seward, Neb. Unlike the Chicago Archdiocese, which has its own seminaries, Rockford sends its men to study at locations around the country.

"I guess in my opinion Rockford is just very active in its advertising and making priests present through the summer camps and different programs," Buenrostro said. "Growing up, it really helped me learn to love what priests do."

Like many college freshmen, he says he isn't "100 percent sure about the priesthood."

"The reality of giving up marriage and children is overwhelming sometimes, but I know at least for a few years, I at least owe it a chance. I don't feel locked in at all, though," he said.

With its new, more personable, less pressurized approach, the Chicago Archdiocese has tapped priests at each of its six vicariates, as well as its three seminary programs, to personally seek out and invite men to consider joining the cloth.

"We've also established a Quigley Scholars Program," a high school formation discernment and faith deepening program that meets once a month at St. Joseph College, Noonan said.

"We're trying a lot of new things -- we don't have success figures based on them yet," he said.

Still, in his sixth year as vocation director, Noonan reports more interest than ever from local guys.

"Our new benchmark is to start recruiting 15 to 20 local men a year. We're not messing around anymore."