Joseph T. Ryan

[1] Ryan was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edmund Gibbons for the Diocese of Albany on June 3, 1939.

From 1958 to 1960, he was based in Beirut, Lebannon, where he did relief work with the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and the Pontifical Mission for Palestine.

[1] On February 7, 1966, Ryan was appointed the first archbishop of the Archdiocese of Anchorage by Pope Paul VI.

[2] The archdiocese was erected following the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, and was formed from the South Central area of the Diocese of Juneau.

[2] As archbishop, Ryan provided for the pastoral and spiritual care of Catholics in the United States armed forces and their families, residents of veterans hospitals and civilian government employees living abroad.