Sylvester Donovan Ryan

Sylvester Donovan Ryan (born September 3, 1930) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Monterey in California from 1992 to 2007 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1990 to 1992.

Biography

Early life Ryan was born on September 3, 1930, in Avalon, California. On May 3, 1957, Ryan was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Cardinal James McIntyre. An educator, Ryan served as principal of Paraclete High School in Lancaster, California, in the 1960s to June 1971, and Saint Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, California, in the 1970s. Ryan was named president-rector of the archdiocesan Saint John's College Seminary in Camarillo, California, 1986.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles On February 17, 1990, Pope John Paul II appointed Ryan as an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and titular bishop of Remesiana. Ryan was consecrated at the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana in Los Angeles on May 31, 1990 by then Archbishop Roger Mahony.

On December 18, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI accepted Ryan's letter of resignation as bishop of Monterey in California. He was succeeded by Bishop Richard Garcia, Auxiliary of Sacramento.