As the innocuous auxiliary bishop (under Cardinal Sean Cronin) and rector of the Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago, he travels the Archdiocese of Chicago and around the world (at Cardinal Cronin's "See to it, Blackwood!"
charge) solving locked-room mysteries related to the Roman Catholic Church and its members.
In his fictional biography, John Blackwood "Blackie" Ryan was born in 1945 to a large Irish-American family, ordained priest in 1970, made a Monsignor in 1983, and elevated to bishop in 1990.
In the books, we learn that Blackie is not a fan of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith), who in 2005 became Pope Benedict XVI after the death of Pope John Paul II.
Aided by his psychologist sister Dr. Mary Kathleen (Kate) Ryan Murphy, cousin Mike Casey (known in their family as "Mike the Cop"), and other North Wabash Avenue Irregulars, he counsels people in crises of faith and solves puzzling locked-room murders.