Rest in Peace
Archbishop Joseph T. Ryan, 86, died on 9 October in Albany, New York.
A native of Albany, Archbishop Ryan was ordained a priest on 3 June 1939 after studies at Manhattan College and St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York.
After several parish assignments, he joined the Navy Chaplain Corps during World War II, serving as a Marine chaplain. He returned to Albany after the war, serving as the first diocesan vocation director and the first director of diocesan radio and television
In May 1957, Francis Cardinal Spellman appointed him Vice Chancellor of the Military Ordinariate. He was named a monsignor that year. The following year, Msgr. Ryan was appointed Field Director of the Pontifical Mission and served in Beirut from June 1958 to March 1960.
His time in Beirut cut short by illness, Msgr. Ryan returned to the United States in March 1960, fully expecting to return to Albany. Francis Cardinal Spellman, then Archbishop of New York and President of CNEWA, asked him to remain in New York and in December 1960 the Cardinal named Msgr. Ryan National Secretary of CNEWA. Serving concurrently as President of the Pontifical Mission, he held this post until he was named Archbishop of Anchorage, Alaska, in February 1966.
Archbishop Ryan served as Archbishop of Anchorage until December 1975, when he was named Coadjutor Bishop of the Military Ordinariate, serving the U.S. Armed Forces. He was appointed the first Archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, U.S.A., in March 1985, and held this post until his retirement in May 1991.
Cardinal Sodano Visits CNEWA
While visiting New York as the representative of Pope John Paul II at the Millennium Summit meeting of the United Nations, Angelo Cardinal Sodano, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, visited CNEWA on 7 September. He met with CNEWA’s senior staff and toured the office, greeting staff members.
Two days later at the Church of Our Saviour, Cardinal Sodano offered Mass celebrating the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in the United States.
Forming Knights and Ladies
Msgr. Stern was the principal speaker at the annual meeting of the Eastern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, held in New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria on 15 September. Two days later, Msgr. Stern addressed the general meeting of the Southeastern Lieutenancy in Atlanta.
Msgr. Denis J. Madden, Associate Secretary General, spoke at the annual meeting of the Northern Lieutenancy in St. Paul, Minnesota, on 16 September.
In October, Msgr. Stern and Brother David Carroll, F.S.C, Assistant to the Secretary General, spoke at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Lieutenancy, held in Austin, Texas, from 13 to 15 October. Both also addressed the Middle Atlantic Lieutenancy at its annual meeting on 27 and 28 October in Washington, D.C.
Present-day issues surrounding Jerusalem were the focus of these addresses.
Death of a Friend
Bishop Egidio Sampieri, O.F.M., Vicar Apostolic of Alexandria, Egypt, died on 26 August at the age of 72. The bishop was noted for his ecumenical work and for his ceaseless efforts on behalf of the poor.
“I always considered him a most special person and a dear friend,” Msgr. Stern said.
“His wonderful good spirit, his warm and affectionate outreach to everyone with whom he came in contact, his openness to all those in need, his brotherly concern for all Christians–Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical–and for Muslims as well, all of these beautiful qualities endeared him to me and to all of my colleagues.”