John Huston Ricard, S.S.J. (born February 29, 1940) is an

American Catholic The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 1997 to 2011 and as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore () is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in northern and western Maryland in the United States. It is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Baltimore. The Archd ...

from 1984 to 1997. Ricard was elected

superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 2019 and reelected in 2023.

Biography

Early life and education

Born on February 29, 1940, in

New Roads, Louisiana New Roads (historically ) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the 2010 census, down from 4,966 ...

, John Ricard is of Creole descent. After graduating from

Xavier University Preparatory School Xavier University Preparatory School was a private, Catholic high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament founded, owned and operated the school, having opened it in 1915 as what would eventually become Xavier Uni ...

in New Orleans in 1958, he joined the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Josephites), entering the Mary Immaculate Novitiate in

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is an 1854 book by American transcendentalism, transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. T ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Ricard then attended Epiphany Apostolic College in

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...

. He completed his

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

studies at St. Joseph's Seminary in Washington, D.C.

Priestly ministry

On May 25, 1968. Ricard was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Robert Tracy for the Josephites. After his ordination, the Josephites assigned Ricard as an associate pastor at St. Peter Claver Parish in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. In 1970, he earned a master's degree from

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

in New Orleans. In 1972, the Josephites sent Ricard to Washington to serve as pastor of Holy Redeemer Parish. He was moved in 1975 to become pastor at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Washington. In 1976, Ricard was also appointed as an instructor at the National Catholic School of Social Service at

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

in Washington, serving there until 1978. In 1979, Ricard was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Washington. He was awarded a doctorate from Catholic University in 1983. He also studied at the Washington School for Psychotherapy and worked as a psychotherapist in Southeast Washington, D.C.

Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore

On May 25, 1984,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Ricard as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

and Titular Bishop of Rucuma. He was consecrated on July 2, 1984, at the

Cathedral of Mary Our Queen The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen is a Roman Catholic cathedral located Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It was completed in 1959. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Baltimore. It replaced the Basilica of the National Shrine of t ...

in Baltimore by Archbishop William Borders. In 1987, Ricard was instrumental in the revival of the Colored Catholic Congress movement, being the legal representative for the

National Black Catholic Congress The National Black Catholic Congress (NBCC) is a Black Catholic advocacy group and quinquennial conference in the United States. It is a spiritual successor to Daniel Rudd's Colored Catholic Congress movement of the late 19th and early 20th cen ...

(NBCC) upon its incorporation. He served as NBCC president from that time until 2019.

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

On January 20, 1997, John Paul II appointed Ricard as Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee. He was installed on March 13, 1997. On May 14, 2004, Ricard issued a statement denouncing what he termed the "abuse and torture" by US military forces of Iraqi combatants captured during the Iraqi insurgency. During his time as bishop, Ricard served as chair of

Catholic Relief Services Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Founded in 1943 by the Bishops of the United States, the agency provides assistance to 130 million people in more than 110 ...

from 1995 to 2002, as a member of

Pontifical Council Cor Unum The Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'' (One Heart) for Human and Christian Development was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church from 1971 to 2016. History ''Cor Unum'' was established by Pope Paul VI on 15 July 1971. It ...

in Rome and as chair of the

USCCB The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 2001 after the merger of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Co ...

's Committee on Social Development and World Peace, Domestic Social Development from 1992 to 1995. He was also a member of the USCCB's Secretariat of Black Catholics. On December 22, 2009, Ricard suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and was treated at Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital of Pensacola.

Retirement

Ricard tendered his letter of resignation as bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

in February 2011, citing poor health. The pope accepted Ricard's resignation on March 11, 2011.

Josephite administration

In June 2011, Ricard was appointed rector of his alma mater, St. Joseph's Seminary. In June 2019, Ricard was elected as superior general of the Josephites. On November 24, 2021, Ricard issued a statement with Archbishop Wilton Gregory calling for justice following the 2020

murder of Ahmaud Arbery On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was murdered during a racially motivated Hate crime laws in the United States, hate crime while jogging in Satilla Shores, a neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, Brunswick in Glynn ...

by three men in a suburb of

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...

. Ricard was reelected as superior general of the Josephites in 2023.

Personal life

Ricard is a cousin of Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville. Fabre is also from New Roads, Louisiana.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Pensacola–Tallahassee Official Site

National Black Catholic Congress
bio of John Ricard
National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus
bio of John Ricard

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ricard, John Roman Catholic bishops of Pensacola–Tallahassee Living people 1940 births Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore National Catholic School of Social Service faculty African-American Roman Catholic bishops 20th-century American Roman Catholic bishops Tulane University alumni Roman Catholic bishops in Louisiana 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Louisiana Creole people Catholic University of America alumni Josephite bishops Superiors General of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people People from New Roads, Louisiana African-American members of Catholic religious communities African-American Catholic superiors general Epiphany Apostolic College St. Joseph's Seminary (Washington, DC)