Archbishop Patrick John Ryan – His Life and Times

Ireland – St. Louis – Philadelphia : Chronology

1831	Born in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, the eldest child of Jeremiah and Mary (née Tuohy). His home was on a farm in Cloneyharp, about 7 miles from the town.
1844	Composed and read an address to Daniel O'Connell in Richmond Gaol in Dublin.
1845 to 1849	Witnessed the Great Famine.
1847	Entered the seminary at St. Patrick's College, Carlow, aged sixteen.

1852	Went from Ireland via New York to St. Louis as a deacon. Ordained priest the following year.
1861 to 1865	Chaplain at Gratiot Street Prison where many Confederate prisoners were held.
1872	Appointed titular Bishop of Tricomia and Coadjutor of St. Louis.
1877	Spoke on the subject ‘What Catholics Do Not Believe’ in Mercantile Library Hall, St. Louis (published in 1878 with wide circulation).
1879	Preached at the dedication of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York.

1884	Appointed Archbishop of Philadelphia.
1887	Appointed a diocesan school board, the first in the USA. Was one of the signatories of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Catholic University of America.
1890	Established the Roman Catholic High School for Boys, the first free Catholic secondary school in America.
1896	Addressed a joint reunion of the veterans of the Civil War at Central Hall, Washington, DC.
1900	Addressed (offered the prayer) at the National Convention of the Republican Party in Philadelphia that nominated McKinley and Roosevelt.
1902	Appointed by President Roosevelt as a member of the Board of Indian Commissioners, the first Catholic prelate to be appointed.
1911	Died at his residence beside the cathedral, nine days short of his eightieth birthday.