Early life and education Born on February 29, 1940, in
New Roads, Louisiana, John Ricard is of
Creole descent. Ricard is a cousin of Archbishop
Shelton Fabre of Louisville. After graduating from
Xavier University Preparatory School in New Orleans in 1958, he joined the Josephites, entering the Mary Immaculate Novitiate in
Walden,
New York. Ricard then attended
Epiphany Apostolic College in
Newburgh, New York. He completed his
theological 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. During his time as bishop, Ricard served as chair of
Catholic Relief Services from 1995 to 2002, as a member of
Pontifical Council Cor Unum in Rome and as chair of the
USCCB'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 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 in February 2011, citing poor health. The pope accepted Ricard's resignation on March 11, 2011. On November 24, 2021, Ricard issued a statement with Archbishop
Wilton Gregory calling for justice following the 2020
murder of Ahmaud Arbery by three men in a suburb of
Brunswick, Georgia. Ricard was reelected as superior general of the Josephites in 2023. ==See also==