Vocation Stories

Charles H. Allen, SJ

DOB: 02/13/42

Entered SJ on 08/15/59
Ordained in 09/08/73
Primary Occupation: Executive Assistant to the President of the University
Home Town: Jamaica Plain, MA

I was born in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts two months after the start of World War II. My parents, grandparents and great grandparents were all from Boston.

Wanting to be a priest and to see the world at the same time, I joined the Jesuits when I was seventeen. Having lived in Mexico, Italy, France, Spain, England, Ireland, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, I have seen a good deal of the world and had 28 very happy and fulfilling years as a priest.

Among many other things, the Jesuits have provided me the opportunity to receive an excellent education. I have a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Philosophy from Boston College, as well as Master's Degrees from the Gregorian (Rome), Brown and Columbia Universities in Theology, Mathematics, and Educational Administration respectively.

I am a former high school math teacher and administrator, and I presently serve as the executive assistant to the President of Fairfield University.

My happiest moments as a priest have come while offering Mass. Be it a baptism, a first communion, a wedding, or even a funeral, it is both a beautiful experience and an awesome responsibility to be asked by a family to be a part of one of the most important moments of their life.

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