“ALL
FOR THE
GREATER
GLORY OF
”
GOD
FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: FR. PETER RYAN, SJ
You were born in Washington, D.C.,
and grew up in Maryland with a lot of
brothers and sisters. What was it like
growing up in the Ryan household?
I was raised in a traditional Catholic
family of eight children, and my parents,
Inez and Philip, passed on their very
strong faith. My father was a professor
at Georgetown Law School, and he later
become a partner in a law firm. The job
switch helped him deal with the tuitions
that mount up when you send eight chil-
dren to Catholic schools!
What about your childhood helped
form your young faith life?
We went to Mass every Sunday, and
after Mass was over, my father would of-
ten kneel and pray for a while longer as
other people were leaving. It was his way
of getting quiet time with the Lord, which
wasn’t easy to do at home with all the kids.
I attended Holy Redeemer Grade School
in Kensington, Md., for all eight years and
30
graduated in 1966. We used the Baltimore
Catechism, which though not perfect was
extremely helpful. In addition to Masses at
school, the May procession every year made
a real impact on me. We would kneel on
the blacktop in a semicircle surrounding
the statue of Mary, singing Marian songs
and then crowning her. Later in life, when I
was struggling, I would return to that statue
and ask for Mary’s intercession.
I’ve read you had a profound re-
conversion experience while in
college. Tell me about it.
Despite my very solid Catholic back-
ground, I let myself become too immersed
in the secular culture of the 1960s and early
’70s and lived a sort of “good-time Charlie”
college life. But deep down I was yearning
for meaning and truth, and for a confirma-
tion of my faith. Many of my friends were
not going to church, and I was hanging on
to my faith by my fingernails.
One day, I went out to celebrate the
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Fall 2018
Interview by Mike Stechschulte
Fourth of July with friends. I remember
looking up at the beautiful fireworks but
feeling empty inside. I found myself pon-
dering questions such as, “Where am I
going with my life?” and “Isn’t life sup-
posed to have more meaning?” My inte-
rior emptiness was a stark contrast to the
magnificent fireworks. Driving home, I
kept struggling with these questions, and
I remember getting on my knees in my
room and praying a prayer that I had
never prayed or even heard before: “Lord
Jesus Christ, please invade me with your
Holy Spirit.” I prayed it over and over
again. And then I went to bed.
What happened the next day?
When I got home from work that next
day, I called a young lady I wanted to ask
out, but before I could, she asked me if I
wanted to go to a prayer meeting. Now,
my intentions were good, but I didn’t ex-
actly have a prayer meeting in mind! But
I agreed.