David Laurin Ricken was born Nov. 9, 1952, in Dodge City, Kansas. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Pueblo, Colorado, in 1980. From 1987 to 1989 he studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University, earning a licentiate in canon law and a doctorate in theology.
He was working at the Congregation for the Clergy when he was named coadjutor bishop of Cheyenne in December 1999. He was ordained a bishop by John Paul II a month later.
