Bishop Ricken marked his 25-year anniversary as a bishop on Jan. 6
By Jeff Kurowski | On Mission
ALLOUEZ — “Beautiful memories.”
Those are the words spoken by Carol Ricken when asked about Jan. 6, 2000. On that day, her older brother, Bishop David Ricken, became a bishop, receiving his episcopal consecration from St. John Paul II at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Bishop Ricken was the only American among the 12 men ordained bishops that day.
Just a few weeks earlier, on Dec. 14, 1999, he had been appointed coadjutor of the Diocese of Cheyenne, Wyo. Carol recalled quickly making arrangements for family members to travel to Rome, including for their mother, Bertha Ricken.
But those plans changed.
“(Bishop Ricken) came home (to Colorado) for Christmas because he did the TV interview announcement in Cheyenne,” said Carol, who was a public-school principal in Pueblo, Colo., at the time. “He knew that Mom’s knees were bad, and we realized that dementia was very much a part of it. When he came home, he said, ‘Carol, Mom’s much worse than I thought. Do you think she can make it (to Rome)?’ I said, ‘I don’t know David. I will get her there.’ I was determined to do that.”
She said Bishop Ricken talked to their mother about the trip and sat next to her bed, asking her if she understood that he was going to be made a bishop.
“He asked her, ‘Do you want to go?’ She looked him eye-to-eye and said, ‘Not at all,’” recalled Carol with a laugh. “She grabbed his face and said, ‘But I don’t want to hurt your feelings.’”
Instead, their mother chose her hairdresser to take her spot in Rome.
“Her hairdresser was a single woman, very dedicated to the church, who knew Bishop from the time he was a young priest and prayed for him all the time,” said Carol. “It was wonderful for her.”
Eldest brother Mark Ricken, his wife, Linda, and their son, Christian, made the trip, as did an aunt, uncle and cousins from their father Bill’s family. Bill Ricken had died seven years earlier.
Carol recalled a special moment for Christian, who was 13 years old at the time.
“When he was a year old, we went (to Rome) for a family visit and he was blessed by John Paul as a baby,” she said. “They took him out of the audience, and he blessed him, kissed him on the forehead. And then at 13, he gets to receive holy Communion from John Paul. I said, ‘Don’t ever take that for granted.’”
Large groups from Cheyenne and Pueblo made the trip. There were also more than 25 relatives from Germany who attended, said Carol.
Bishop Ricken had connected with relatives from northern Germany when he was studying at Catholic University of Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. Their paternal grandfather came to the United States in 1911. Their grandmother arrived two years later.
“Bishop had learned German in high school from a little Agnesian sister who was from Fond du lac, so he knew German fairly well,” said Carol. “He made contact with the family during his first Christmas in Belgium. From then on, they sort of adopted him. When he became a deacon, he performed his first baptism for a family member and witnessed his first wedding of a family member.”
Their mother did attend Bishop Ricken’s installation in Cheyenne. Carol said that their mother never called him “bishop.”
“She always called him ‘my Davie Boy.’ She said, ‘He likes to wear that little pink hat (zuchetto) and he looks good in it.’ It was so cute,” said Carol.
“She had not seen him in a miter (until Cheyenne),” added Carol. “She was in the front and we all turned around to watch the procession (at the installation). It’s quiet and she said, ‘There’s my Davie Boy.’ Everybody chuckled.”
Bertha Ricken passed away in August 2001. Their brother, Mark, died April 2014.
Carol has shared 21 of Bishop Ricken’s 25 years as a bishop. She moved to Cheyenne in 2005 to serve as principal of St. Mary School, located only a few blocks from the Cathedral of St. Mary, living at the bishop’s residence.
The Diocese of Cheyenne covers the entire state of Wyoming, so Bishop Ricken spent a great deal of time on the road.
“We called it the confirmation tour,” said Carol. “He would be gone 10 to 12 days at a time. That was a huge relief for him to be able to come home every night and sleep in his own bed (in the Diocese of Green Bay).”
On Aug. 28, 2024, Bishop Ricken marked 16 years as bishop of Green Bay.
“It’s been wonderful. It’s home,” said Carol, who moved to Green Bay following the 2008-2009 school year. “We feel this is more like home than Colorado. (Bishop) has lived here longer than anywhere in his life. He left for seminary at age 13, so he’s been here longer than any place.”
Carol added that they plan to make Green Bay home in retirement.
The celebration of Bishop Ricken’s 25-year anniversary during the Jubilee Year makes the anniversary even more special, said Carol.
“This being the ‘Year of Hope’ (jubilee theme) is catching on,” she said. “Evangelization is catching on. The church is moving forward.”
Marking this milestone 25th anniversary while Bishop Ricken is still in active ministry is also significant, said Carol.
“He was pretty young when he became a bishop (47). He was the youngest for a long time,” she said. “He received a beautiful decree from (Pope Francis) for his 25th, written in Latin. He had to translate it. It’s beautiful.”