St. Lawrence Seminary helps high school boys listen for the voice of God

By Tim Guiden

Last fall, for the 149th consecutive year, a familiar ritual took place in Mount Calvary, a small, rural town among the rolling hills and dairy farms of southeast Wisconsin. At St. Lawrence Seminary High School, Capuchin Father Dennis Druggan, rector and president, rang in a new school year for 200 young men from around the world.

In 1860, Fathers Francis Haas and Bonaventure Frey opened the Convent Latin School, the forerunner of St. Lawrence Seminary. The total enrollment was four students, and tuition was $10 for the first year. Since that day, the school has overcome many obstacles, including a fire that destroyed virtually the entire school, and financial challenges during many periods of its history. But despite all those challenges, St. Lawrence has operated without pause since 1860. More amazing, since that time, no boy has ever been turned away because his parents could not afford the tuition.

St. Lawrence Seminary has gone through many changes during its long and rich history:
From a single log building to a scenic and modern campus;
At times a school for preparation as a Capuchin and at others a school for preparation for lay careers;
From a college to a high school.

But through it all, St. Lawrence has never lost its identity as a place where the Capuchin Franciscan spirit lives within the hearts and minds of its faculty, staff and students. Today, the mission of St. Lawrence is to provide an opportunity for young Catholic men in high school to lay a foundation on which they can build a life of ministry in the Church as laymen - married or single - deacons, brothers or priests.

All five of these vocations are explored by the young men through a four-year graduated program of spiritual formation that includes theology classes, spiritual direction, ministry in the community, and liturgical ministry on campus. Graduates of St. Lawrence go on to become Capuchin brothers and priests, diocesan priests, doctors, lawyers, teachers, members of the military and practitioners of every other career imaginable.

Everyone has a calling from God to serve. The faculty and staff at St. Lawrence Seminary help young Catholic men of high-school age learn to listen for the voice of God in their lives and to discern what God is calling them to be.

This year, 200 young men enrolled at St. Lawrence Seminary. These young men come from 17 states, including Missouri. In addition, 28 students come from Mali, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Ghana, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan and India. It is not surprising that recent polls of alumni show that the top benefit they feel they received while at St. Lawrence is the richness of social and cultural diversity.

Why would a young man want to attend a boarding school today? The reasons are as varied as is the St. Lawrence student body. However, reasons include: the desire to experience a deeper religious lifestyle, the academic excellence St. Lawrence provides, the outstanding reputation of the Capuchins, the solid preparation for lay or religious ministry in the Catholic Church, the ability to mature quickly as a young man learns to live away from home and become responsible for himself, or the unique opportunity to experience people and lifestyles from around the world. St. Lawrence Seminary is unique in many ways. But in many other ways, it's like any other high school. Its students compete in cross country, soccer, basketball, wrestling, track and baseball at the varsity and junior varsity levels, and in tennis, basketball, bowling and softball during intramurals.

The school has a host of clubs, including state-level competitive forensics and math teams, and other clubs for chorus, band, drama, yearbook, a school newspaper, astronomy and student government. Most nights, students can be found gathered in the gym playing together, or in the "Canteen" eating a hot pizza, despite having just had dinner a couple hours earlier!

The founders of St. Lawrence might be surprised if they saw the 10 buildings - some complete with solar panels - the athletic fields, the number of students or the diversity of the student body. But then again, they might not be. The two Swiss diocesan priests were visionaries with a dream of spreading the Gospel as far and wide as they could through the good works of the Capuchin order. That's what was happening in 1860 with the first class of four students, and it is what is happening still with this year's class of young men.

Mr. Guiden is marketing and alumni relations coordinator for St. Lawrence Seminary.