That’s the sentiment expressed by a vocations director in Florida — and what led him to that conclusion is described in this article from Florida Catholic, describing a unique tour of a nearby seminary:

Christina Fischer apologized to her tour guide for asking so many questions — and then, she asked another one.

“I heard that the youngest seminarian here is 22 years old. I thought the guys were a lot older here,” said the curious eighth-grader, who was touring the St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary March 11 as part of a school field trip.

Christina, a student at St. Joan of Arc School, was visiting the Boynton Beach seminary along with more than 300 other students from schools including Holy Name of Jesus, St. Ann, St. Luke, St Juliana, St. Jude, St. Mark and St. Vincent Ferrer, all in the southern end of the Diocese of Palm Beach.

“I find it interesting to see how a priest is made,” Christina told the Florida Catholic about meeting the seminarians, who attend the school as part of their formation for the priesthood. “I know I don’t want to be a nun. I want to be an actress. But I may play the role of a nun one day,” she said.

March 11 was the Diocese of Palm Beach’s annual vocations awareness day at the local seminary, which is owned by the seven dioceses of Florida. St. Vincent de Paul has 61 seminarians living on campus, with the youngest being 22, according to school administration.

“We do have 14 nonresident students taking classes (and) living off campus,” said Alicia Rueff, the seminary’s academic administrative assistant.

“It is our 15th yearly event,” said Martin Serraes, Knights of Columbus vocations director. “It is a vocations day.”

The annual event is hosted by the diocesan Office of Vocations, headed by Father Yves François, and is made possible through the help of the seminary and seminarians studying and living there. The Knights of Columbus Palm Beach Council 2075 and the Serra Club of South Palm Beach sponsored and coordinated the event.

“It is a very good thing to let not only the children see the seminary, but to see what vocations are all about,” said Elifaite St. Fort, a fourth-year seminarian and transitional deacon for the Diocese of Palm Beach. He will be ordained this year. “I am so proud of the diocese for letting the students be able to take time off for this. It is a very good event.”

You can read more about the tour at the link.

The article mentions that the day began with a screening of the superlative vocations video Fishers of Men. If you haven’t seen it, check out this link. It’s incredible.

Photo: Sean Williams, a third-year seminarian for the Diocese of Palm Beach, leads a group of students out of St. Vincent de Paul Chapel after a morning Mass on the campus of St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. Photo by Linda Reeves, Florida Catholic.