David Ricken was born to George William "Bill" Ricken (d. July 1, 1993) and Bertha (Davis) Ricken (d. August 20, 2001) in Dodge City, Kansas.
He has two siblings: a brother, Mark, and a sister, Carol, who is principal of St. Mary’s School in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
For his primary education, Ricken attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Grade School in Dodge City.
He later attended St. Francis High School Seminary in Victoria, graduating in 1970.

Ricken did undergraduate studies in philosophy at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, and Conception Seminary College in Conception, Missouri, graduating from the latter institution in 1974.
As a seminarian for the Diocese of Pueblo, he attended St. Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana, and the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium, obtaining a master's degree in theology in 1980 from the Catholic University of Leuven.
David Ricken was born to George William "Bill" Ricken (d. July 1, 1993) and Bertha (Davis) Ricken (d. August 20, 2001) in Dodge City, Kansas. He has two siblings: a brother, Mark, and a sister, Carol, who is principal of St. Mary’s School in Cheyenne, Wyoming. For his primary education, Ricken attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Grade School in Dodge City. He later attended St. Francis High School Seminary in Victoria, graduating in 1970.
Ricken did undergraduate studies in philosophy at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, and Conception Seminary College in Conception, Missouri, graduating from the latter institution in 1974. As a seminarian for the Diocese of Pueblo, he attended St. Meinrad School of Theology in St. Meinrad, Indiana, and the American College of the Immaculate Conception in Leuven, Belgium, obtaining a master's degree in theology in 1980 from the Catholic University of Leuven.
David L. Ricken