Berkley Center

Bishop John H. Ricard, S.S.J., was the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee from 1997 until his retirement in 2011; he now serves as rector for St. Joseph's Seminary of the Society of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C. He was the chairman of the Committee on International Policy for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). He was also chairman of the ad-hoc Committee for the Church of Africa as a part of the International Justice and Peace/Social Development and World Peace department of USCCB. Bishop Ricard also served as chairman of the board of trustees for the National Black Catholic Congress. Ricard attended the Josephite College Seminary in Newburgh, New York and was ordained a priest in 1968. He later received an M.A. from Tulane and a doctorate from the Catholic University of America.