Fr. Richard (Rick) McLaughlin was born Meriden, Connecticut on August 11, 1947. Immediately after high school, he entered the seminary of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ (Passionists) in West Hartford, Connecticut. His theological studies were completed at St. John’s University in New York City. On May 31, 1974, Fr. McLaughlin was ordained a priest for the Passionists at Immaculate Conception Monastery in Jamaica, New York by the Most Reverend Francis Mugavero, the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

After ordination, Fr. McLaughlin attended Fordham University where he completed post-graduate studies in the history of religions. While serving as a Passionist priest, Fr. McLaughlin was Associate Retreat Director in retreat houses in West Hartford, Connecticut, and Queens, New York. His last assignment prior to coming to Maine was in West Virginia, where he and another priest ministered to six churches spanning an entire county. 

In 1986, Fr. McLaughlin began serving in Maine and was incardinated in the Diocese of Portland in 1989. He has served at: Saint Sebastian, Madison; Sacred Heart/Saint Dominic, Portland; Saint Benedict, Benedicta; Saint Joseph, Lewiston; Saint John, Bangor; and Cluster 16, Auburn and Oxford County. In addition, he served for many years on the Diocesan School Board, directed chaplaincy services for the diocese, and previously served as Vicar for Priests.