Bishop John H. Ricard, who served 13 years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, is alert and resting comfortably after suffering a stroke Tuesday, according to the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. The 69-year-old bishop was upgraded from critical to serious condition at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, where he was admitted with symptoms of a stroke, according to the diocese. A CT scan confirmed the stroke. Ricard was a popular auxilliary bishop in Baltimore from 1984 until 1997, when he was named by Pope John Paul II to head the Pensacola-Tallahassee diocese. The Baton Rouge, La., native was ordained a Josephite father in 1968.

- Matthew Hay Brown