By Christopher Gallagher • Posted May 21, 2019

The Archdiocesan Vocation Office for the Diocesan Priesthood will offer three summer camps for high school-aged young men, with each session providing a unique focus on faith and fellowship.

Quo Vadis will take place from June 24 to June 27 at Black Rock Retreat in Quarryville, Pa. The camp will include talks, small group discussions, daily Mass, Eucharistic adoration, recitation of the rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours, which priests and religious pray daily. Swimming, soccer, frisbee and a ropes course will round out the activities.

Now in its 11th year, the four-day camp is named after the Latin translation of John 13:36, in which Simon asks Jesus, “Master, where are you going?”

Past attendees, including many current seminarians and priests, have cited the session as pivotal in their vocational discernment process.

“Quo Vadis is … where young Catholic men can go and just figure out what God wants them to do with their life,” said Dan Monastra, a former attendee who is now a seminarian at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood.

The cost of registration, which closes on June 3, is based on a sliding scale, with attendees paying between $25 and $300 as they are able. The vocations office is also accepting donations to cover the actual cost of $300 per attendee.

From July 8 to 18, young men who are in their junior or senior year of high school can earn three college credits through the Philadelphia Catholic Scholars Program (PCSP) at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

The discussion-based seminars, led by professors from the seminary and area universities, will focus on the key texts of the church’s cultural and intellectual heritage.

This year’s session, entitled “Truth, Beauty, Goodness,” will explore works by Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas and Pope St. John Paul II.

The camp will also feature daily Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as weekend cultural excursions to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.

Registration for PCSP is $150, and upon acceptance into the program, additional information on tuition costs will be communicated. Tuition assistance is available.

The vocation office’s final camp for this summer, Going Deeper, will provide junior and senior high school men with the chance to explore their faith through acts of service.

From July 28 to August 1, the young men (from incoming juniors to graduated seniors) will join seminarians from St. Charles Seminary at their “spiritual year” house, a community living arrangement located in St. Matthew Parish in Conshohocken.

In addition to service activities, the session will include daily Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, eucharistic adoration, prayer, talks and small-group discussions.

The $75 registration fee includes all meals, lodging, activities and supplies. No one will be turned away due to financial constraints. Space is limited to 15 participants, and registration closes on July 8.

For information and registration details about the three camps, visit https://heedthecall.org/summer/ or contact Susan Matour, associate director of the vocations office, at 610-667-5778 or smatour@archphila.org.

Inquiries about financial assistance may also be directed to Father Stephen DeLacy, vocation director, at fr.sdelacy@archphila.org.