NATCHEZ — Growing up in Natchez, the Rev. Ricardo Phipps learned people sometimes just need a helping hand.

Raised in Holy Family Catholic Church, Phipps said lessons from his parents, Michael and Roberta Phipps, and his church instilled in him a compassion for others.

“With my family and my church, I can remember growing up and volunteering at the Stewpot, and it impressed me to be grateful for what I have and realizing some people need a helping hand,” Phipps said.

As the new director of Catholic Charities for the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Phipps is perfectly positioned to offer help to the needy.

Catholic Charities provides services related to adoption and maternity, alcohol and drug addiction, children’s mental health, domestic violence, health ministry, immigration, rape crisis, refugees and social ministry.

As director, Phipps will oversee all Catholic Charities programs and budgets, as well as generate support for the organization for members of the parishes.

“I think community support for Catholic Charities is so very important,” Phipps said. “Just looking at Natchez and the services offered there, I plan to make some visits to area churches, not just Catholic churches. Building community partnerships is important.”

Phipps graduated from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and received an undergraduate degree from Rice University in 1996. His seminarian studied took him to Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans then the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., and back to Notre Dame, where he completed his studies in 2002.

Phipps also earned a doctorate in counseling education from the University of Mississippi

Longtime Holy Family member Wilbur Johnson said Phipps always showed strong ambition, even as a young member of the church.

“There has always been a unique quality about Ricardo,” Johnson said. “His ambitions were never the same as the regular children of the church.

“We are all very proud of him. He has shown what Natchezians can accomplish, and he has represented his church and his people in quite a nice way.”