James Ryan (June 17, 1848 – July 2, 1923) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Alton in Illinois from 1888 until his death in 1923.

Biography

Early life

James Ryan was born on June 17, 1848, in

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

, County Tipperary in Ireland. When he was age seven, the family immigrated to the United States, settling in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. He studied at St. Thomas' and St. Joseph's Colleges in

Bardstown, Kentucky Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County. Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...

, and at Preston Park Seminary in Louisville.

Priesthood

Ryan was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood by Bishop William George McCloskey for what was then the

Diocese of Louisville The Archdiocese of Louisville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that consists of twenty-four counties in the central American state of Kentucky, covering . As of 2018, the archdiocese contains app ...

on December 24, 1871. After his ordination, Ryan spent several years afterwards spent a few years as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

In 1877, when

John Lancaster Spalding John Lancaster Spalding (June 2, 1840 – August 25, 1916) was an American author, poet, advocate for higher education, the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria from 1877 to 1908 and a co-founder of The Catholic University of Ameri ...

was appointed to the new

Diocese of Peoria The Diocese of Peoria ( la, Diœcesis Peoriensis, Peoria, Illinois) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the central Illinois region of the United States. The Diocese of Peoria is a suffragan diocese w ...

in Illinois, Ryan incardinated, or transferred to that diocese. After serving pastoral assignments in Illinois at Wataga and Danville, Ryan was named

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St. Columba's Parish at

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city located at the confluence of the navigable Illinois River and Fox River in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The Illinois River is a conduit for river barges and connects Lake Michigan at Chicago, to the Mississippi Riv ...

, in 1881.

Bishop of Alton

On February 28, 1888, Ryan was appointed as the third bishop of the Diocese of Alton by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

. He received his episcopal

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on May 1, 1888, from Bishop Spalding, with Bishops McCloskey and

John Janssen John Janssen (March 3, 1835 – July 2, 1913) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Belleville in Illinois from 1888 until his death in 1913. Biography Early life Ja ...

serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. During his 35-year-long tenure, Ryan established 40 new churches and six

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s and increased the number of Catholics from 70,000 to over 87,000. He held the first diocesan

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

in February 1889. He began raising funds for a new

orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

in 1919 but died before it was completed. James Ryan died in Alton on June 2, 1923, at age 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, James 1848 births 1923 deaths People from County Tipperary 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Irish emigrants to the United States Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria Roman Catholic bishops of Alton Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky Catholics from Kentucky 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States

Biography

Early life

Priesthood

Bishop of Alton

See also

References