Year in Review 2025 Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst 45 26 May 1936 ~ 23 January 2025 Fr John Edward Ryan died on 23 January 2025, aged 88, after sixty-one years of faithful service as a priest of the Diocese of Sandhurst. A respected scholar, counsellor and spiritual director, he was a man of vision whose work transformed priestly formation and wellbeing in Australia. Born in Red Cliffs in 1936, Fr Ryan was educated by the Mercy Sisters in Red Cliffs and Yarrawonga and later boarded at Assumption College, Kilmore. While studying at the University of Melbourne, he discerned a call to the priesthood, later recalling, “Ever since age eleven, I knew that one day I would have to test the call.” He completed his priestly formation at Corpus Christi College, Werribee, and was ordained on 27 July 1963. He served as Assistant Priest in Yarrawonga and at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo, before undertaking postgraduate studies at the Collegio di San Pietro in Rome and the Jesuit University of St Louis, Missouri. After returning to Australia in 1974, Fr Ryan ministered in Bendigo, Myrtleford and Wodonga. In 1977, he co-founded the Centre for Christian Spirituality in Randwick with Fr David Walker (later Bishop David) a pioneering initiative that helped reshape the Church’s understanding of priestly support and renewal. Fr Ryan believed that priests, like all people, needed balance and rest to serve well. “If a priest has peace in his own life, it will flow out of him to others,” he said. His advocacy led to the establishment of St Peter’s Centre for Clergy Education in Canberra, providing ongoing formation and renewal for clergy across the nation. His later work with the Centre for Human Development, the Catholic Institute for Ministry and CatholicCare Canberra continued his mission to nurture the human and spiritual wellbeing of priests. In 1999, he cofounded the Humanita Foundation, promoting integrated Christian living. In 2018, Fr Ryan published A Priesthood Imprisoned, a reflective and challenging exploration of the human dimensions of priestly life and the need for ongoing renewal within the Church. Fr Ryan retired in 2005, leaving an enduring legacy in the way priests are formed, supported and sustained in ministry. A Funeral Mass celebrating his life was held at St Patrick’s Church, Wangaratta, on 7 February 2025. In Memoriam Fr John Ryan Fr John Ryan, will be remembered as the priest’s priest. A scholar, author and spiritual director who advocated for the human and spiritual nourishment of priests, transforming priestly formation Fr John Ryan on the day of his ordination pictured with his brother.
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