The Boys Who Would be Priests : Education: High school in Mission Hills helps students learn if they want to devote their lives to the church.

At Our Lady Queen of Angels High School in Mission Hills, no graffiti mar the walls. No cigarette butts litter the bathrooms. No souped-up cars blast Guns N’ Roses in the parking lot.

But the most unusual thing about this Catholic high school is not its meticulous grounds but its student population of 150 boys.

They are studying to become priests.

“We are a specific school for boys asking the question, ‘Does God want me to be a priest?’ ” says Father Lawrence Signey, 30, dean of students and a 1979 graduate of Queen of Angels.

The school, located next to the San Fernando Mission on Mission Hills Boulevard, was founded in 1926. Originally located at Third and Detroit streets in Los Angeles, it was moved to its present pastoral location in 1954. It is one of only 10 seminary high schools in the United States, and the only one west of the Mississippi River, according to Father Dick Martini, rector at the school.

Each student arrives at Queen of Angels knowing that his high school life will be markedly different from that of his public school peers. He will board at the school from Sunday night to Friday afternoon, spending only weekends at home with his family.

His hair length must remain above the collar. He will attend class wearing a uniform of beige pants, white shirt and navy sweater, celebrate Liturgy of Hours services three times a day and not leave the school grounds without permission. If he is caught with cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, he will be immediately dismissed.

Despite the seemingly rigorous restrictions of seminary life, Queen of Angels students are like ordinary teen-agers--just with shorter hair and neater wardrobes. They are fiendishly interested in sports, travel down the halls to classes in adolescent packs, crack jokes, razz teachers, sing Top-40 tunes in mock-falsetto and complain loudly about their latest homework . . . in Latin.

“The boys are encouraged to lead normal lives--makes friends, go to dances, have all those experiences,” says Mary Wilson, 41, the mother of Chris, a senior at Queen of Angels High School. “That was the one concern I had before we visited the school, but my concerns were unfounded.”

The boys’ Spartan cubicles--seniors have private cubicles while an underclassman would share his cubicle with as many as three roommates--sport iconography from both the spiritual and material worlds: crosses on the beds and walls, posters of Madonna (the “Blonde Ambition Tour”), “boom boxes” and sundry musical instruments nearby.

During a recent noon Mass, all 150 students gathered in the school’s cavernous Baroque-style chapel to pray and sing. The sea of young faces--Caucasian, Korean, Filipino, African-American, Latino and Vietnamese--listened attentively as Father John Nghi, a faculty member, read from the Bible. Then four upperclassmen played hymns on their guitars while a fifth accompanied on the piano. The congregation sang along.

When Nghi announced the section of Mass called “The Sign of Peace,” the boys rushed from their pews to shake hands, embrace and wish each other blessings. Camaraderie is very important here, among students, faculty, returning alumni and administration.

“There’s a lot of friendship,” says Cesar Castro, 18, of Santa Monica. “Everyone supports each other. When you have problems, you’re encouraged to talk to a close friend or go to one of the priests or teachers. You’re never without support.”

John Knoll, 18, of Fullerton, who wants to become a priest, concurs. “There are a lot of good things about this school. Responsibility is stressed. If you sleep late, it’s not the end of the world, but you learn there are consequences to your actions. You also learn to stand up for what you believe in and not be afraid.”

Rules at Queen of Angels are clearly laid out. Should a boy commit an infraction, he is issued demerit points. Monthly listings of violations are posted prominently on a hall bulletin board. Tardiness, talking during Mass, sloppy uniform and messy dorm room are common infractions. According to Signey, more serious behavior problems are rare.

“When you compare here to other high schools, you see that the types of problems we encounter are insignificant,” says Signey. “But if one does arise, we go with it right away. We’ll work with the student and his family. And if the boy is troubled, his peers will come to his aid.”

Although many of the young Queen of Angels students are seriously committed to a lifetime in the clergy, others are unsure. School officials emphasize that no pressures are placed on the students to accept the vocation; the decision must come from within.

Each boy is required to select one of four priests as a personal spiritual adviser. Faced with normal adolescent temptations, hormonal assaults, everyday problems and peer pressures, they spend their four years of high school weighing their futures very carefully.

“Sometimes they do have doubts and they come to me,” says Father David Gallardo, Queen of Angels’ head spiritual adviser. “They are particularly concerned about God’s calling. They ask me, ‘Did you feel this way?’ ‘How will I know?’ ‘Did this come up for you, too?’ And their doubts are very reasonable.”

Martini, 36, a priest for 12 years, estimates that only 13% of graduates eventually become members of the clergy. “But 98% will go on to become good Catholic leaders, whether as priests or as laity,” Martini says.

Queen of Angels’ graduation statistics are impressive: Nearly 100% of each graduating class goes to college. Only 10% of its entire student population will drop out “because they recognize that seminary life is not for them,” Martini says. Of the 1992 senior class of 21 boys, all were accepted to college. Thirteen will attend St. John’s Seminary College in Camarillo; the others will attend UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, Loyola-Marymount, UC Santa Cruz and Cal State Northridge.

Alumni have included eight California bishops, numerous priests, an FBI agent, a Los Angeles fire captain and a civil defense attorney.

“I learned the importance of service there,” says Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda, 39, (Class of 1970) an ex-Marine who has been fighting fires for 14 years. “I never lost that sense of mission to care for others more than myself--in my case, I chose to serve the people of Los Angeles as a firefighter.”

Civil attorney Vince Fish, 59, (Class of 1948) says that Queen of Angels gave him a well-rounded education, fueled his desire to help people and introduced him to classmates with whom he would remain close for 44 years.

“I made very good friends,” Fish says. “Everyone who goes there is striving for one goal,” spirituality. “They are very moral, upstanding, and honest--refreshing characteristics in people.”

Adds Ruda, “My best friends to this day are the ones I went to seminary with.”

Queen of Angels’ most famous graduate is Cardinal Roger Mahony, who oversees the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“The school’s setting beside the mission greatly inspired me,” says Mahony, who grew up in North Hollywood. “It was a constant reminder of the roots of the church, Christianity’s beginnings in California, Father Serra, and the sacrifices made in Jesus Christ’s name. Being there gave me a deeper sense of mission.”

Indeed, the high school’s grounds are impressive: 44 rambling acres of grassland, a pool, track, tennis courts, a well-tended grotto devoted to the Blessed Virgin and two sleek International-Style buildings for classes and administration.

The seminarians engage in more than 20 sports, including baseball, soccer, basketball, water polo, cricket, swimming, racquetball, handball, hockey and even Frisbee golf. Each year, the students compete in a “jog-a-thon” to raise money for the school. They are required to put in hours of community service and attend annual spiritual retreats.

Admission is competitive. Young applicants must exhibit not only a strong interest in the priesthood and a commitment to Catholic living, but excel academically. Interviews are granted to finalists and their families. Letters of recommendation from parish priests are required.

Queen of Angels’ tuition, room and board fees average $2,100 a year, which is lower than fees charged by most other Catholic high schools in the Valley. Ten percent of the students receive financial aid, contributed by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“Cardinal Mahony assures parents that students desiring to attend Queen of Angels will not be denied acceptance because of financial need,” Martini says.

“God doesn’t pick from one social stratum,” adds Signey.

In recent years, enrollment at the school has risen steadily, due to what Martini describes as “a growing idealism by today’s young people.”

In 1982 the school enrolled 39 freshmen; in 1990 it took in 61. Last year, 70 freshmen attended Queen of Angels. Admission standards have remained the same.

“The selfishness and greed of the 1980s have shown themselves,” Martini says. “Young people are now committing themselves to causes, instead of just making money.”

Seeds of a new era, the “We” decade, may be sprouting from the remains of the “Me” decade. Student Joe Wilhelm, 18, of Laguna Beach exemplifies Martini’s prediction. A handsome, 6-foot-tall blond, Wilhelm is the youngest of four brothers and the first who will attend college.

“I chose the school because I wanted to do something that helps people,” Wilhelm says. “Right now, I’m kind of thinking about the priesthood, and no matter what, I’ll definitely be going to St. John’s. I want to do something that makes a contribution.”

Wilson’s son, Chris, hopes to make a difference too. While on school breaks, the young seminarian and captain of the Queen of Angels baseball team tutors elementary schoolchildren and works as a busboy at the Calabasas Inn between semesters. He plans to become an educator.

“We are pleased at how Chris is turning out as a young man,” his mother says. “This has probably been the best four years of his life, and our lives as well. He’s grown spiritually, emotionally and physically. If he becomes a priest, we’ll be very honored. We have no hesitation at all.”

According to Mahony, the well-publicized priest shortage of the mid-1980s may be abating; ordinations, as well as seminary enrollment, are again increasing in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. In 1986, Mahony ordained only four priests. In 1991, he ordained 13. This year, he will be giving 18 men their holy orders. “My goal by the end of the century is to ordain at least 20 annually,” Mahony says.

This year, Martini hopes for 100 new students at Our Lady Queen of Angels High School. Along with Mahony, Signey and an international group of Catholic leaders called the Serrans, Martini has fasted throughout Lent and prayed that his goal will be achieved. So far, 140 boys have applied; 40 have been accepted. Martini remains unperturbed.

“In 1990, we wanted 61 new students, so we prayed and we got them,” Martini says. “We got bold in 1991 and asked God for 70 new students. We got those, too.”

Martini is told that his present goal of 100 is a lofty one. He smiles knowingly and looks skyward with the spiritual confidence that comes from 12 years of priesthood. He’s certain that he will get his wish for 1992.

After all, miracles at Queen of Angels are part of the curriculum.