John Vincent Ralph

Father John Vincent Ralph was born in Newtownforbes, Co. Longford, Ireland. He was preceded in death by his parents, John V. and Rosetta Reynolds Ralph; sister, Anne Frances Ralph; and brother, William James Ralph. He is survived by one sister, Mary Theresa Ralph of Ballymahon, Co. Longford, Ireland; one brother: Patrick J. Ralph of Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland; numerous nieces and nephews; and longtime friends and caretakers Theresa Zechenelly of Pearl River, Louisiana, USA, and Karrel Weathers of Slidell, Louisiana, USA. Father Ralph was ordained a priest in 1955 in Kiltegen, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. As a member of the St. Patricks Missionary Society, Kiltegan Fathers, he worked as a missionary in Nigeria, Africa and departed Nigeria in 1967 due to the civil war. He was editor of a missionary magazine, Africa, for a short time. Father Ralph worked in England for brief periods in 1968/1969 and moved to the United States in September 1969 to work in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Father Ralph continued his life work in 1976 at the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia and served in Grant Town, Logan and Rivesville Parishes. He obtained a Master’s Degree in journalism from the University of Southern, Illinois. Father Ralph retired from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, and in December 1997 he came to Biloxi from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, assigned by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a contract chaplain for the VA Medical Center in Biloxi. Although retired, he served as spiritual director for the Sacred Heart Praesidium and for the South Mississippi Curia of the Legion of Mary for several years. He continued his life work serving the parishioners of Our Lady of Fatima, Sacred Heart D’Iberville, and other Catholic Parishes throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast area. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Fatima on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. Friends may visit from 12:00 until the Mass. Burial will follow at Biloxi City Cemetery. The Howard Avenue Chapel of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. View and sign register book at www.bradfordokeefe.com