Early life

James Ryan was born on December 15, 1886, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to John Marshall and Brigid (née Rogers) Ryan.^[1] John Ryan worked as superintendent of motor power of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad. James Ryan attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[1] He then went to Rome, where he earned Bachelor of Sacred Theology (1906) and Doctor of Sacred Theology degrees (1909) from the Urban College of Propaganda and a Ph.D. from the Roman Academy (1908).^[1]

Priesthood

Ryan was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on June 5, 1909.^[2] Following his return to Indiana, he was appointed chaplain of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in Indiana and professor of psychology at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, from 1911 to 1921.^[1]

Ryan then began his career at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he served as instructor in philosophy (1922–26) and associate professor of philosophy (1926–28). In July 1928 he was named the fifth rector of the university.^[1] During his administration, he reorganized and rebuilt the university, also instituting nursing courses and a School of Social Work and expanding the graduate school to admit 800 students.^[3]

Ryan became a well-known and powerful figure in Washington.^[3] He was once received by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and his send-off party was attended by the likes of Ambassador Hans Luther, Assistant Attorney General Joseph B. Keenan, Justice Pierce Butler, Postmaster General James Farley, Secretary Henry A. Wallace, and Canon Anson Phelps Stokes.^[3] Ryan served as the first executive secretary of the National Catholic Welfare Council (1920–28), and was raised to the rank of domestic prelate in 1927 and of protonotary apostolic in 1929.^[1]

Titular Bishop of Modra

On August 15, 1933, Ryan was appointed titular bishop of Modra by Pope Pius XI, in acknowledgment of his accomplishments as rector.^[2][4] He received his episcopal consecration on October 25, 1933, from Bishop Joseph Chartrand, with Bishops Thomas Edmund Molloy and Joseph Ritter serving as co-consecrators, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.^[2]

Bishop and Archbishop of Omaha

Following the appointment of Bishop Joseph Rummel to Archbishop of New Orleans in March 1935, Ryan was named the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Omaha on August 3, 1935.^[2] In 1939, he was sent to South America to "develop cultural relationships" on behalf of the American Catholic Church and the U.S. Department of State.^[5] Following his return, he declared, "The foundation has been laid for a 'Catholic front' to protect democracy in this hemisphere."^[6]

When the Diocese of Omaha was elevated to the rank of an archdiocese, Ryan became its first Archbishop on August 4, 1945.^[2][7] He died two years later from a heart attack at age 60.^[8]