Founded under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Ryan was the twenty-eighth Archdiocesan high school to be established.

Archbishop Ryan was the twenty-eighth Archdiocesan high school to be founded and the sixth begun by Cardinal John Krol, who continued the tradition of furthering Catholic education in the Philadelphia archdiocese.

The 35-acre (140,000 m2) tract on Academy Road accommodates a spacious school building, and outdoor athletic fields as well as parking areas.

The central shared facilities of auditorium, library media center, and chapel serve the coeducational student body.

On June 16, 2022, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Office of Catholic Education announced that Joseph Sanginiti '75 would succeed Barnett as the current president of Archbishop Ryan.

Holy Family University offers college level courses at the Ryan campus for seniors during the regular school day.

The competitive boys' sports of Archbishop Ryan include baseball, basketball, football, wrestling, bowling, cross country, ice hockey, golf, indoor/outdoor track and field, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, and tennis.

Students use InDesign, Photoshop, and Paint to do layout work for the yearbook and take most of their own pictures, using digital cameras and a single Nikon D300.