Joseph A. Ryan OMI

Rev. Joseph A. Ryan, OMI, 92, died at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Residence in Tewksbury on October 2, 2009 after a period of declining health. He was born on November 15, 1916 in North Cambridge, MA, the son of Martin and Kathleen (McGann) Ryan.Fr. Ryan entered the novitiate of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Tewksbury, MA on September 7, 1935 where he also professed his first vows on September 8, 1936. Bishop John Michael McNamara ordained him to the priesthood on May 28, 1942 in Washington, DC.
Following ordination and post-graduate studies in Washington, DC, Fr. Ryan was assigned to parish ministry in Newburgh, NY and Tewksbury, MA from 1943-45 while waiting for the end of World War II when it was safe to travel to Brazil. He departed for South America in 1945 and spent 22 years in Brazil. He was the last of four Oblate priests who founded the Missionary Oblates' mission in Brazil. While there, he ministered in parishes in Sao Paulo, Vila Cruz, Suzano, and Interlagos and was the director of the Oblate Juniorate in Pocos de Caldas from 1955-1962. He returned to the US in 1967 and continued parish ministry at Holy Angels Parish, Buffalo, NY, 1967-84; Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984-85 and St. Margaret Mary Parish, Harrisburg, PA, 1985-90. In these parishes he was especially noted for his care for the sick and homebound. He retired in 1990, becoming a member of the community at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Residence and Infirmary in Tewksbury, MA.