Ryan, Herbert J.

Fr. Herbert J. Ryan, SJ, 79, died on April 8 in Los Angeles. Born in Scarsdale, New York, on February 19, 1931, he entered the Society of Jesus at St. Andrew on Hudson in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1949. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1962. He pronounced his Final Vows in Maastricht, Holland, in 1966.

Fr. Ryan began teaching at Loyola Marymount University in 1976 and was involved in the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), to which he was appointed by the Pope and archbishop of Canterbury.

Author, editor and scholar, Fr. Ryan published several books and 65 articles in numerous journals. In addition to teaching at the University, Fr. Ryan also made himself widely available to the LMU community by conducting an e-mail exchange called “Ask Father Herbie” where LMU faculty and staff could submit any religious or philosophical questions which Fr. Ryan would examine and respond to.

“Fr. Ryan did a great deal of ecumenical work and was a much beloved professor,” said Fr. Thomas P. Rausch, SJ, who has known Fr. Ryan for the past 30 years. Fr. Ryan was also a recipient of the University’s Fritz B. Burns Distinguished Teaching Award in 2001.

“He was my best friend, and I was his. I never heard him say one unkind word about another person. He was very supportive and loved deeply by students. He was committed to the Ignatian ideals, always seeking the greater glory in all things,” said Fr. Ernesto Sweeney, SJ, who attended Fordham Preparatory in the 1950’s with Fr. Ryan.

Fr. Ryan’s funeral will take place on Saturday, April 17, at 10 a.m. in Sacred Heart Chapel. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Theological Studies Department and to the Center for Ignatian Spirituality.