Father Thomas Ryan, a Pittsburgh native whose nearly 50 years of ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore was highlighted by chaplain posts at Archbishop Spalding High School and Johns Hopkins University, died of cancer Jan. 2. He was 79.
A memorial service is scheduled for Feb. 10 at 10:30 a.m. at Archbishop Spalding High School.
Born in Pittsburgh June 2, 1944, Father Ryan graduated from La Salle University in Philadelphia and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore before ordination at St. Michael the Archangel in Overlea Oct. 20, 1973.
After assignments at St. Dominic, the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, where he was assistant director, and St. Ursula, all in Baltimore, he served at Holy Family in Davidsonville and the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland before being named chaplain at Archbishop Spalding in Severn, where he served from 2000 to 2003.
He was chaplain at the Newman Center at Johns Hopkins from 2003 to 2010, and from 2010 to 2016, at Towson University. He returned to Archbishop Spalding as a part-time chaplain from 2016 until his retirement in 2022.
While at Johns Hopkins, Father Ryan told the Catholic Review that his vocational influence began at Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic High School, run by the Christian Brothers. He described the brothers as well as the Sisters of Mercy as “human vocational voices.”
He became a Christian Brother, and while working at Calvert Hall College High School was drawn to the priesthood.
He also credited friendships with archdiocesan priests Monsignor Edward F. Staub, Monsignor James J. Cronin and Father Charles K. Riepe. “They asked me if I ever considered the priesthood, perhaps based on the questions I asked. I had a curiosity about what their lives were like.”
Father Ryan said he liked to encourage students to enter religious vocations. “In many ways, I’m the voice that was like the voice that brought me here,” he said of those priests. “I say, have you ever looked at that?”
When he retired, a tribute from Archbishop Spalding noted, “We will always remember with great fondness how his homilies ended with the familiar line, “There you go, saints, there you go.” The school has an endowed scholarship in his name.
A warmly affectionate Jan. 4 statement from the high school noted his presence in local lives.
“There were many things Father Ryan was loved for. He likely adopted at least 20 stray cats in his lifetime, his passion for chatting about ‘America’s Got Talent,’ his fondness for New York, his perfect use of alliteration, his mischievous nature.
“He would forever steal hard-boiled eggs from Father Brendan Carr’s plate at Monsignor O’Dwyer Retreat House when his best friend wasn’t looking. These are the things that made him human and Father Ryan excelled in his ministry with our students and colleagues because he let us see his humanity – the fun, the frivolous, the fears and faults,” the school’s statement said.
“Because of that, we trusted in him and his understanding of God’s love. And so we invited him to bless our babies, sit with us in reconciliation, grapple with life’s deepest questions, preside over our weddings and help us say goodbye to our closest loved ones. He forever reminded us to be mindful of ‘the sheep that limp’ and he greeted each person with genuine compassion.
“He always saw himself as an equal companion on the journey, fiercely protective of those he loved, which, for him, included every student, faculty and staff member of the Spalding community. If you were a Cavalier of any kind, you were his family,” the statement said.
In a 2020 Easter homily delivered to Spalding students on video during the onset of the COVID pandemic, Father Ryan noted that a nephew had told him, “You’re an old dude.”
“He’s right. I’m an old, happy dude.”
This story was updated with funeral details Jan. 31.
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