Retired Major General Warren Phipps, Jr. or “Warren” as he now likes to be called, began serving as executive director of Catholic Charities and the Mother Teresa Shelter on March 2. Warren is an Army veteran, whose tours of duty included serving in combat during the Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraqi conflicts, earning him two bronze stars.
“I had a very fulfilling career in the Army. I joined the Army to serve. Then after passing the physical, I got to fly,” he said. He became a pilot and ran the flight school for fixed-wing helicopters. He flew Kiowas (Bell OH-58), Cobras (Bell AH-1), and piloted in the first squadron of Apache (AH-64) helicopters. “My last flights were in combat, [flying Apache], and that was fine – I wanted it that way.”
Warren likes to claim he’s from Texas because he was stationed at Fort Hood and San Antonio for many years, and his wife Sylvia Phipps is from El Paso, but he was actually born in Baltimore, Maryland. Warren’s family of origin were equal parts Episcopalian and Catholic, but he and his sister were baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church.
Shortly after graduating from high school in the small community of Edgewood, Maryland, and two weeks after turning 18, Warren began his career in the military at West Point, New York. His earliest memories of attending a Catholic church was as a cadet at West Point. He began attending Mass at Most Holy Trinity Church along with his roommate, his roommate’s family and girlfriend. They lived nearby in Rockland, New York, and would often come to take them out to eat after attending Mass.
Also, he added smiling, “the Catholic Masses were more frequent than the protestant services, and they were a welcome respite from the rigors of military training. I would also benefit from whatever goodies my roommate’s mother and girlfriend would bring.”
In his 20s, he converted to Catholicism after attending RCIA classes and before marrying his wife of 37 years. They have two sons and three grandchildren.
Now a self-proclaimed devout Catholic, Warren said that as he progressed in his military career, Church became his sanctuary. It became a place where he could let go of things he’d seen and done in combat. “It’s ugly, there’s nothing clean about it, and I live with that, I carry it around with me every day,” he said. “It’s like when I’m in a church – I sort of drop that rock.”
During his retirement ceremony from the military, he said he felt he was transitioning. “I was looking for a vocation of service. And I envisioned what my life would be like after the military; I was looking for what that was,” he said. “I was very attracted to Catholic Charities.”
Warren recalled working for the mobile pantry right after Hurricane Harvey hit. He saw the devastation in Refugio – people packing up everything they owned into the backs of their trucks, heading to the Valley, or Houston. He saw the loss of hope in people’s eyes. Then when faith-based organizations brought workers and volunteers to help clear the debris and rebuild what was destroyed, he saw a fog lift from the eyes of those that stayed, “we brought hope and strengthened a faith that was lacking,” he said.
Most recently, Warren was executive director for Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group, a non-profit corporation directly responsible to a board of directors. He worked closely with faith-based groups and over 30 volunteers to aid in long-term recovery across six counties in response to the devastation wrought by Harvey.
“After two years of working with disaster recovery and working with all the faith-based organizations, two things hit me. I was overwhelmed by the impact that faith-based organizations have on the community and underwhelmed about how they’re recognized for all they do,” Warren said.
Along with Disaster Coordinator for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Deacon Mark Arnold, Warren testified before the Texas Legislature Committee on County Affairs and tried to express to them that church organizations were like a large safety net catching [helping] a lot of people.
“Even some of the clients don’t know,” he said. “They think it’s another government entitlement. I would tell them ‘look I’m not FEMA, I’m not the Red Cross – everything we’re doing comes from private donations. It’s the collection plate going through the Church’ – that’s the value and importance of faith.
“There is a lot that the government can do, but there’s a lot the government can’t or won’t do, and without those safety nets, people go for naught. I’m inspired by Catholic Charities’ value of the dignity of each life and understanding that – I think it’s a challenge in our modern society to see the homeless when we walk by them.
“That’s why I’m excited to come to Catholic Charities because that’s their vision: To get somebody to where they are self-reliant and self-sufficient. It’s about the dignity of each person and the Church sharing the blessings that we all received with those who haven’t received them.
“Warren is a servant leader and will be a great asset to our diocese and especially Catholic Charities and the Mother Teresa Shelter,” Bishop Michael Mulvey said.