A battle cry rings out. Shouting ensues. Jack Nowak darts across the seminary lawn, searching for the campers’ flag.

Eight years ago, he played Capture the Flag as a camper at the annual Kenrick-Glennon Days. This year, he led a team of junior counselors as an incoming seminarian.

As a sixth-grader, Nowak’s mom signed him up for Kenrick-Glennon Days (KGD), a camp for sixth- through ninth-grade boys to learn more about the Catholic faith and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. Year after year he returned, first as a camper, then as a junior counselor and finally as an incoming seminarian — all because the experience encouraged him to discern his vocation.

“KGD really started my whole discernment process,” Nowak said. “Before my first KGD, I had never really thought about the priesthood. I remember particularly being struck by night prayer. When I walked into St. Joseph Chapel, I just felt very much at home and at peace in that chapel.”

Joy-filled interactions between seminarians and campers is an intentional component of Kenrick-Glennon Days, helping young men recognize the seminarians’ humanity.

When Nowak attended the camp in sixth grade, Father Donald Morris served as his seminarian counselor. Through watching Father Morris, Nowak realized that a seminarian’s life is anything but dull.

“I never really knew what a seminarian was,” Nowak said. “KGD showed me just how joyful the seminarians are and how joyful the priesthood really is.”

“KGD normalizes seminary for guys,” Father Morris said. “These guys get to see seminarians, they get to pray in the seminary, sleep in the seminary. It normalizes the whole culture for them in a way that wouldn’t be possible for other guys that age.”

Nowak shared that joy and humanity with his campers.

“The seminarians were all so easy to talk to and were so willing to share. It was cool to just see how they are all such good friends,” said Elijah Robeson, a camper in Nowak’s group. “I never thought being a seminarian or priest would be as fun as it seems to.”

Critical to that joyful atmosphere are the KGD chants. At any given moment, whether during lunch, the cowboy-themed games or when an awkward silence fell across the group, Nowak would lead the group in a rousing chant, stirring up the group’s energy.

“Men love being part of the group,” Nowak said. “Ever since I was a camper, I’ve loved the loud chants, and now as a leader, I love starting chants.”

These chants create the fun, rambunctious environment that is the heart of Kenrick-Glennon Days. Filled with games, the famed Water Olympics and time to hang out, the activities seek to teach campers a critical lesson — that being a disciple of Jesus is fun.

“We try to show them what seminary is like through both the fun and games portion of the camp and the faith portion of the camp,” said Father Brian Fallon, archdiocesan vocations director. “We want them to recognize that being a disciple of the Lord is fun, even though we have to do tough things.”

The camp also creates deliberate space for young men to wrestle with the tough aspects of the faith — primarily discernment. As a camper and junior counselor, Nowak found himself itching for extra time to pray about God’s will for his life.

“As a camper, I would worry that I would get caught if I tried to sneak up to St. Joseph Chapel to just sit in there and pray for a little bit,” Nowak said. “But now, I can go to the chapel and pray whenever I want. There is something really small and beautiful to that.”

Another small yet beautiful moment for Nowak and fellow incoming seminarian John Bytnar came in the evenings, once the campers had gone to bed. The seminarians gathered around a fire pit, talking, laughing and giving Nowak and Bytnar a crash course in Seminary 101.

“All of us seminarians would just talk for an hour or two, even though we were all super tired and slap happy,” Bytnar said. “That meant a lot to me, because this was my first KGD and I knew very few seminarians. It was really fun for me to get to know them and receive a crash course on the seminary.”

Even though the famed Archbishop’s Cup has been awarded to the Water Olympic Champions and the chants have gone silent, the real work of Kenrick-Glennon Days has just begun. The campers and junior counselors have headed home, equipped with a deeper knowledge of the faith and a better understanding of what the life of a seminarian looks like. Many will return next year to continue their vocation discernment.

“Seeing the same campers come back year after year, and then eventually becoming junior counselors, is really beautiful and powerful to see,” Father Fallon said. “Some of those junior counselors end up talking with me about discernment and entering seminary. It is really neat to see that trajectory.”

As for Nowak and Bytnar, they learned a lot more about the life they are entering this fall. They have added to their packing list, know what their day-to-day activities will look like and feel a sense of peace that they have found their home.

“During KGD, I really started to feel more and more at home at the seminary,” Nowak said. “Which is amazing, because that feeling, that calling that started all the way back in sixth grade is becoming reality. It’s like a dream is coming true.”

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