John Joseph Thomas Ryan (November 1, 1913 – October 9, 2000), better known as Joseph T. Ryan, was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was archbishop of the

Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (formally the Military Ordinariate of Archdiocese for the Military Services of the United States) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese that provides the Catholic Church's pa ...

, from 1985 to 1991, having previously served as archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Anchorage In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

in Alaska from 1966 to 1975.

Biography

John Ryan was born on November 1, 1913, in Albany,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to Patrick and Agnes (Patterson) Ryan. He attended Christian Brothers Academy in Albany,

Manhattan College Manhattan College is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university in the Bronx, New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Christian Brothers) as an academy for day students, it was la ...

in New York City and St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York. Ryan was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop

Edmund Gibbons Edmund Francis Gibbons (September 16, 1868 – June 19, 1964) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Albany from 1919 to 1954. Biography Edmund Gibbons was born in White Plains, New York, to James and ...

for the Diocese of Albany on June 3, 1939. During World War II, Ryan served in the US Navy Chaplain Corps from 1943 to 1946. He participated in the 1945 Marine landing at Okinawa; he was cited twice for bravery. After his discharge from the Navy, Ryan served in the Diocese of Albany from 1946 to 1957. He was

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the U.S. Military Vicariate from 1957 to 1958. From 1958 to 1960, he was based in Beirut, Lebannon, where he did relief work with the

Catholic Near East Welfare Association The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (abbreviated CNEWA, pronounced "k-NAY-wah" ) is a papal agency established in 1926 and dedicated to giving pastoral and humanitarian support to Northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. ...

and the

Pontifical Mission for Palestine The Catholic Near East Welfare Association (abbreviated CNEWA, pronounced "k-NAY-wah" ) is a papal agency established in 1926 and dedicated to giving pastoral and humanitarian support to Northeast Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and India. ...

Archbishop of Anchorage

On February 7, 1966, Ryan was appointed the first

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the Archdiocese of Anchorage by Pope Paul VI. He received his episcopal consecration on March 25, 1966. from Cardinal Francis Spellman, with Bishops

Edward Joseph Maginn Edward Joseph Maginn (January 4, 1897 – August 21, 1984) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Maginn was ordained to the priesthood on July 27, 1922. On June 27, 1957, Maginn was named titular bishop of Curium and auxiliar ...

and

Edward Ernest Swanstrom Edward E. Swanstrom (March 20, 1903 – August 10, 1985) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1960 to 1978. Swanstrom served as the national director of Catholi ...

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, ...

. The archdiocese was erected following the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, and was formed from the South Central area of the

Diocese of Juneau The Roman Catholic Diocese of Juneau (Latin: ''Dioecesis Junellensis'') was an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the northwestern United States, comprising the southeastern part of the state of Alaska. It was led ...

Coadjutor Archbishop for the Military Vicariate

Archbishop for the Military Services, USA

Ryan was named by Paul VI as coadjutor archbishop for the Military Vicariate and Titular Archbishop of '' Gabii'' on November 4, 1975.Ryan was appointed to assist Cardinal Terence Cooke, who was serving both as archbishop of the vicariate and archbishop of New York. Cook died on October 6, 1983. Pope John Paul II elevated the Military Vicariate to the Archdiocese of the Military Services, USA, on March 16, 1985, and named Ryan as its the first archbishop. As archbishop, Ryan provided for the pastoral and spiritual care of Catholics in the United States armed forces and their families, residents of veterans hospitals and civilian government employees living abroad. John Paul II accepted Ryan's resignation as archbishop of the Military Services on May 14, 1991. Ryan then returned to Albany for retirement. John Ryan died on October 9, 2000, in Albany at age 86.

References

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