Richard Higgins

Colonel Richard Brendan Higgins, USAF (ret), (born 22 February 1944) is an Irish-born American Roman Catholic bishop. Bishop Higgins is the Titular Bishop of the Casae Calanae and serves as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

Higgins was born in Longford, County Longford, Ireland. He was ordained a priest on 9 March 1968 for the Diocese of Sacramento at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome. He joined the United States Air Force as a chaplain in 1974, and served both in the United States and abroad, including two assignments as the Catholic pastor at the United States Air Force Academy. He was named an Honorary Prelate of His Holiness (monsignor) by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

On 7 May 2004 he was appointed Titular Bishop for the Diocese of Casae Calanae. He was consecrated on 3 July of the same year at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The Principal Consecrator was Archbishop Edwin O’Brien; his Principal Co-Consecrators were Bishop Howard Hubbard, and Bishop William Weigand.

After 30 years of active duty service, Bishop Higgins retired from the Air Force on September 1, 2004, with the rank of colonel. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster and the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters.