Background
Ryan was born in Almonte, Ontario on January 1, 1825, and later moved with his family to Pennsylvania, where he entered Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary at Overbrook in 1841.
Ryan was born in Almonte, Ontario on January 1, 1825, and later moved with his family to Pennsylvania, where he entered Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary at Overbrook in 1841.
He served as Bishop of Buffalo, New York from 1868 until his death in 1896. On March 3, 1868, Ryan was appointed the second Bishop of Buffalo, New York, by Pope Pius IX. He received his episcopal consecration on the following November 8 from Archbishop John McCloskey, with Bishops John Loughlin and John Joseph Lynch, Certificated Master, serving as co-consecrators, at Saint Joseph"s Cathedral. Ryan unified the Catholic school system and established a commission to supervise the work of parochial schools.
He founded the diocesan newspaper called the Catholic Union (later known as the Catholic Union and Echo, the Magnificat, and the Western New York Catholic).
He also engaged in a public controversy with Arthur Cleveland Coxe, the Episcopal Bishop of Western New York, over the issue of apostolic succession. Ryan died at Buffalo, aged 71, and was interred next to Bishop John Timon at Saint Joseph"s Cathedral.
His tenure as Bishop spanned 28 years, the longest in the history of the Buffalo Diocese.