[2] The school was named by CardinalGeorge Mundelein in honor of his predecessorin the area, Archbishop James Edward Quigley.

Anticipating the need for more priests, Quigley formulated plans for Cathedral College, to be located in the center of Chicago.

Quigley realized that the archdiocese needed to build a larger minor seminary, but the Cathedral College site was too small for expansion.

Prior to his death, Quigley shared his plans for the new seminary with his successor, Auxiliary Bishop George Mundelein from the Diocese of Brooklyn.

[12] After becoming archbishop of Chicago in 1916, Mundelein wrote to the priests in the archdiocese regarding the new minor seminary;[13] "It is for this reason that in several of the dioceses of the country, the bishops have established the more modern form of the preparatory seminary, where the young boy selected from among his companions by the pastor or confessor, who discerns in him the probable signs of a vocation, the piety, application and intelligence which is required for the candidate for the holy priesthood, even while remaining in the sacred circle of the home and under the watchful eye of a pious mother, is placed apart and educated with those who only look forward to that same great work in life, the priestly field of labor, keeping daily before his mind the sublime vocation of the priesthood, preserving him pure and pious by constant exhortation, by daily assistance at the Holy Sacrifice and by frequent reception of the sacraments.

"[14]Mundelein then described the new minor seminary for the archdiocese;"The buildings are to be in the early French Gothic style of architecture and by reason of the distinct individuality and prominent location, will form a place of interest, not only to visitors, but to all lovers of the City Beautiful.

[17] As rector, Purcell established a school newspaper, The Candle,[18] and Le Petit Seminaire, the seminary yearbook.

[19] As rector, Foley urged the faculty to earn graduate degrees and regularly met with students to evaluate their classroom performance.

"[19] On May 18, 1937, speaking to 500 priests at a diocesan conference at Quigley, criticized the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler, the Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring.

Mundelein condemned the Nazi leaders for using the pretext of "immorality" and sexual scandals to attack Catholic religious orders, organizations and schools in Germany.

Quigley was still using the five-year minor seminary curriculum with the "Sulpician language-school model" that was started by Purcell 50 years earlier.

It included: In the meantime, the archdiocese rented the Ogden School from the Chicago Board of Education as an annex to handle the overflow of Quigley's 1,300 students.

[28] For a short period in the early 1960s, the two Quigley campuses held joint events, including graduation ceremonies, to instill among the students the spirit of sharing one school.

Meyer continued the practice of appointing priests as faculty at the two Quigley seminaries, believing that "young seminarians needed a good number of priest-models to make an intelligent decision about their vocations.

Under the admissions reforms, the two seminaries would admit; The new admissions policy also indicated that Quigley North and South should "emphasize the fact that they are contemporary seminaries primarily concerned with the development and encouragement of vocations to the priesthood", and that "a vigorous campaign should be begun, especially on the part of priests, to enroll qualified students.

"[31] On October 5, 1979, on a papal visit to the United States, Pope John Paul II delivered three speeches at Quigley South.

"[34] By 1989, both Quigley North and South were experiencing steep declines in enrollment and a large reduction in the number of graduates entering the priesthood.

[35][36] A group bought a full-page ad in the Chicago Sun-Times opposing the actions,[37] The Order of St. Augustine purchased the Quigley South campus from the archdiocese for St. Rita of Cascia High School.

The new Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary was recognized by U.S. News & World Report in 1999 as one of 96 outstanding high schools in America.