Reverend Father Charles D. Fox, Associate Pastor

I want to say right off how happy I am to spend my second priestly assignment here at St. Hugo. I would like to take a moment to introduce myself to all of you in the following brief autobiography.

I was the first child of my parents Chuck and Rosemary, born in 1976 and raised in the City of Detroit and Redford Township. I was baptized at Christ the King Parish in Detroit, and my family soon moved to St. Agatha Parish in Redford. I attended elementary school at St. Agatha (K-6) and St. Valentine (6-8) in Redford, and graduated from St. Valentine Elementary School in 1990. My parents and youngest sister Molly still live in St. Valentine Parish. My sister Bridgid lives in Livonia and brother Patrick lives in Redford with my nephew Patrick Jr.

After graduating from St. Valentine, I attended Detroit Catholic Central High School for one year and then transferred to St. Agatha High School. I graduated from St. Agatha in 1994. I then attended Henry Ford Community College for two years and the University of Michigan-Dearborn for three years, graduating in 1999 with a Bachelor of Communications Degree with a concentration in print journalism.

I grew up in a large extended Irish Catholic family, and both my parents’ household and the larger Fox and Murphy families are characterized by faith, devotion to and love for each other, traditions great and small, a love of good times and a strong collective sense of humor. My family life and upbringing are responsible in large part for my ability to respond positively to God’s call to the priesthood.

I thought a great deal about the priesthood when I was in middle school, and if such an election had existed within my family I would likely have been elected “most likely to become the family priest.” I began to pursue other interests in junior high and high school, however, and it was not until my third year of college that I began to think seriously about the priesthood again.

At that time, I began to experience what is sometimes called a “reversion,” that is, I began to practice my Catholic faith more seriously. While I was interested in becoming a journalist or an attorney, and actually worked for the County Press newspaper in Lapeer, MI for about eight months, it was gradually becoming clear to me at this time that God was calling me down a different path, the path of the priesthood. I decided to apply to Sacred Heart Major Seminary in January, 2000 and began studies there in the fall of that year.

My years at the seminary were wonderful, life-changing years. Among the many things I would like to do during my time here at St. Hugo is to share the good news about all of the opportunities for education, growth, and enrichment at Sacred Heart, particularly with anyone who thinks he might be called to the priesthood. Among my experiences at Sacred Heart were the development of a regular spiritual regimen, studies in philosophy and theology, two third-world missionary experiences, a pilgrimage to Europe, a summer experience in hospital chaplaincy, an internship at Immaculate Conception Parish in Anchorville, and an assignment at St. Joan of Arc in St. Clair Shores for service as a transitional deacon.

I have also been enriched greatly by my first priestly assignment at Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington, MI. Although I only spent one year at Sorrows, it was a very rich experience and a memorable first year of my life as a priest.

I hope that serving at Sorrows will be a good preparation for my time here at St. Hugo, as both parishes are very strong and vibrant, with plenty of work for a young priest! Indeed, I hope that all of the experiences I have named above have prepared me for my service here at St. Hugo. I look forward to what I hope and pray will be a rich and fruitful time, as together we respond to the Universal Call to Holiness and live the only true life: life in Jesus Christ. May God bless you in the week ahead.

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