Edward Francis Ryan

Edward Francis Ryan (March 10, 1879 – November 3, 1956) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Burlington in Vermont from 1945 until his death in 1956.

Early life
Edward Ryan was born on March 10, 1879, in Lynn, Massachusetts, to Simon Joseph and Mary (née Breen) Ryan. After graduating from Ingalls Grammar School in Lynn, he attended Lynn Classical High School and Boston College in Boston, where he was editor-in-chief of The Stylus. He furthered his studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Priesthood
Ryan was ordained to the priesthood in Rome for the Archdiocese of Boston by Archbishop Giuseppe Ceppetelli on August 10, 1905. He said his first Mass at San Clemente al Laterano and earned a doctorate in theology from the Pontificio Collegio Urbano de Propaganda Fide. He then did pastoral work in the archdiocese. Commissioned as a first lieutenant, he served as an Army chaplain with the 89th Infantry Division during the Meuse–Argonne offensive.

Upon his return, Ryan served as curate in two parishes before becoming a pastor Our Lady, Help of Christians in Concord. He became pastor of Holy Name Parish in West Roxbury, Massachusetts in July, 1932. Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Roxbury was a mission station of Holy Name. Ryan started construction of an enlarged church in 1937, which was completed in March 1939. He also instituted the practice of a number of novenas. He served as State Chaplain for the Catholic Daughters of America.

Bishop of Burlington
On November 11, 1944, Ryan was appointed the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Burlington by Pope Pius XII. He received his episcopal consecration on January 3, 1945, from Archbishop Richard Cushing, with Archbishop Francis Spellman and Bishop Francis Keough serving as co-consecrators. He was installed at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Burlington on February 7, 1945.

During his 11-year-long tenure, Ryan established the first Carthusian monastery in the United States in Whitingham, Vermont in 1951. He also established the Benedictine Priory at Weston, Vermont in 1953, and the College of St. Joseph at Rutland, Vermont, in 1954. He erected almost two dozen new churches, established the Vermont Catholic Tribune in 1956, and provided a camp and a school for boys in Burlington.

Edward Ryan died in Burlington on November 3, 1956, at age 77. He is buried at Resurrection Park in South Burlington, Vermont.