Ribat was born in Volavolo,
East New Britain,
Papua New Guinea. He professed as a member of the
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in February 1979. He was ordained a priest on 1 December 1985. He worked as a parish priest, continued his studies in
Manila, and served as master of novices for the Missionaries in
Suva,
Fiji. He was conferred a knighthood on 12 June 2016 in the
Queen's Birthday Honours list. On 9 October 2016,
Pope Francis announced that he planned to raise Ribat to the rank of cardinal at a consistory scheduled for 19 November 2016. He was made a Cardinal Priest on that day and assigned to the titular church of
San Giovanni Battista de Rossi. He is the first cardinal from his country. Francis made him a member of the
Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development on 23 December 2017. He participated as a
cardinal elector in the
2025 papal conclave that elected
Pope Leo XIV. ==References==