Bishop John H. Ricard, S.S.J., has been the Bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee since March 13, 1997. He was appointed by Pope John Paul II. The Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee encompasses approximately 70,000 Catholics and a territory that incorporates Northwest Florida extending 14,044 square miles from Pensacola to Tallahassee. Bishop Ricard moved from the Archdiocese of Baltimore where he served as Auxiliary Bishop since his Episcopal Ordination on July 2, 1984. Bishop Ricard is the former Chair of Catholic Relief Services where he served from 1995 to 2002. Bishop Ricard is the recent past Chair of the International Policy Committee for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops where he served from 2002-2005. He continues to serve on the board of the International Policy Committee and sits as Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Church in Africa.

Bishop was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and upon completion of high school entered the Josephite College Seminary in Newburgh, New York. He completed his theological training at St. Joseph Seminary in Washington, D.C., and was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1968. Since ordination, Bishop Ricard continued his studies, receiving a Masters Degree from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1970 and a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1984.

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