Patricia Fox

Patricia Fox is an Australian religious figure, a member of the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion. She is known for her ejection from the Philippines by president Rodrigo Duterte.

Early life Fox was raised in the Box Hill area of Melbourne and was attended schools run by the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion. In 1969, she joined the congregation. She said that she was inspired to serve the poor people in the Philippines when she met a Filipina Franciscan Missionary of Mary in the 1970s in Jerusalem. The missionary told stories of the struggles of vulnerable sectors in the Philippines and how they rose and protested against the Marcos dictatorship. This gave way for Fox to be inspired by reading about and practicing liberation theology. She had an opportunity to go to the Philippines in 1984, where she found "no distinction between the church and movement for justice" which immensely inspired her. Fox was concerned for the well-being of peasants and the urban poor. She has been quoted as saying, "The role of the religious is to be with those who are suffering, oppressed, to be with those who are asserting their rights." She joined the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in 1991, became the Regional Coordinator for Central Luzon in 1998, then became the National Coordinator from 2000 until her departure from the Philippines. She attended events, including masses in Ateneo de Manila University and University of the Philippines Diliman that prayed for her safety and for her to remain in the country.

Then Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said that these actions against Fox is a "form of persecution and harassment." Fr. Benjamon Alforque of the Promotion of Church Peopleʼs Response condemned the arrest and deportation of Australian nun Sr. Patricia Fox who has been a long-time advocate of Filipino farmers.

Fox left the country in November 2018, saying that the Bureau "played dirty", by waiting until the last minute by issuing a deportation order on October 31, 4pm, because she was told that she is about to be deported on November 3, a date preceded by two public holidays. She said that she "had no choice but to leave." She said that she departed the country "in shock" after spending many years among the lives and struggles of the urban and rural poor in the Philippines. In order to adjust to the change from living among the poor in the Philippines, she has been traveling around Australia such as in Perth, Sydney, and Brisbane, in order to tell about the stories of marginalized sectors in the Philippines. She has also been active in telling stories by participating among online fora.

She is active in many advocacy groups, including Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans and Pax Christi Australia. She is also the Chairperson of the Australian chapter of the International Coalition of Human Rights in the Philippines.