Ryan, Mary Perkins, 1912-1993

Mary Perkins Ryan was born on April 10, 1912 in Boston to Charles and Elizabeth Ward Perkins. One of four children in a devout Catholic family, Ryan was particularly influenced by her older sister Anna. She attended Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in New York City, graduating in 1933 with a B.A. degree.

In 1940, Ryan met Father Michael Ducey at St. Mary Abbey in Newark, New Jersey. Following their meeting, she took on a public position in the first Liturgical Week Conference in Chicago. Her interest in liturgy would continue for the rest of her life. Ryan married John Julian Ryan in 1942, and together they attended the National Liturgical Conference for many years.

Ryan was a prolific writer, publishing on a range of topics including liturgical catechesis, the Church’s educational mission in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, and adult Catholic education more broadly. She was the founding executive editor of the Living Light, a catechetical journal published in the spirit of Vatican II. In the last years of her life, Ryan suffered from Parkinson’s disease and arthritis, and could no longer speak or write clearly. Ryan died on October 13, 1993.