Pope John XXIII entered the seminary shortly before his 12th birthday. The Church in the United States used to accept boys into the seminary following elementary school, but today it is more common to begin pursuing the priesthood after high school, college, or even later. The vocation to the priesthood is a call to serve the Church as an ordained cleric. If the call involves service to the local Church, the young man will become a diocesan priest and serve the diocese in some pastoral capacity. If the call to priesthood is accompanied by a call to religious community life, the young man will join a religious order and serve the Church according to the charism of the order. If the call to priesthood is accompanied by a call to bring the message of the Gospel to new lands or new peoples, the young man will join a missionary order and serve the Church in some distant land.