Saints Under Construction - The Ricketts

If you attend 9:30 a.m. Mass on Sundays at Mary Queen of Peace and happen to sit in the pew in front of the Ricketts family, you’ll be treated to a special, melodious experience.

From that seat you’ll not only hear the beautiful spiritual melodies of the MQP cantor, but the mesmerizing and uplifting tenor voice of Rob Ricketts. The more Rob sings, the more coveted the pew adjacent to his has become.

Rare is the Sunday that Rob doesn’t hear “You should be in the choir” from a parishioner lucky enough to be within earshot of his heavenly pipes.

His wife, Ashton, chuckles at the mention that Rob doesn’t seem to be just another voice in the crowd. “He’s classically trained in opera,” she said. “And he goes all out at Mass.”

Going all out is also a good way to describe the Ricketts’ approach to their faith and devotion to MQP.

They moved to St. Tammany Parish about three years ago from Lake Charles. They attended several area churches before settling at MQP two years ago.

“We were going to these other churches and we just kinda felt like a number…,” Ashton said.

A friend recommended MQP. They joined the parish and never looked back.

Rob, a Montana native who was raised in the Lutheran faith, enrolled in the parish’s RCIA program and became Catholic. Even after the Ricketts’ recent move from Mandeville to north of Covington, they continued at MQP.

“We felt so welcomed and Rob felt like he finally found a church family as opposed to just being a member of a church,” Ashton said. “We’re just really, really blown away by the love in this (church) community.”

For Ashton, a cradle Catholic, MQP helped reinforce an experience several years ago that drew her back to the faith.

As an engaged couple before their 2020 marriage, Ashton and Rob did not plan to have a Catholic wedding. Like many young people, Ashton went to college and eased away from the Catholic Church. She explored other denominations before being jolted back to Catholicism.

“Something happened in my family that really shook me to my core,” she said. “I remember the moment so vividly. That was a big gut check for me."

“My immediate reaction was to get back to my church, my safe space. That’s where I knew God was and where I knew I’d be protected by Him.”

Rob, who works in construction management, would attend Mass with Ashton after her sudden return to the faith. In early 2024, he converted to Catholicism.

Even before his conversion, Rob said many people thought he was Catholic. “I had to be one of the most Catholic, non-Catholics anywhere,” he said.

The Ricketts – including their two daughters Oaklyn, 3, and Magnolia, 10 months – have evolved into an official, devout Catholic family.

Rob said after years of attending different churches in different denominations, he has finally found a home at MQP.

“I’ve never attended a church like this one, one that is so welcoming,” he said.

Despite the demands of family life, work and a long commute to work, Rob joined the Knights of Columbus and one day, when the children get a bit older, he plans to join the choir.

“It’s really one of my favorite things to do,” said Rob, who participated in singing competitions as a student and whose father was a professional opera singer.

Ashton, a former elementary school teacher, is now a stay-at-home mom who plans to homeschool the children.

Despite the family’s long trek to MQP, Ashton said they are staying put because they’ve found an intimate spiritual home at MQP.

“We’re not going anywhere,” she said. “The (MQP) community is so interwoven in our lives and we feel that we have such strong relationships with so many members of the congregation. It feels like a family versus just being a person in a pew.”