Ryan of Modra

There are 102 Roman Catholic bishops in the U. S., most of them churchmen who reached the apostolic succession after lengthy, inconspicuous service. Last week Rome made a bishop of a man of only 46 because it approved his work as pedagog during the past decade. In Washington some 2,000 people crowded into the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of Catholic University of America, to see the consecration of its rector, Most Rev. James Hugh Ryan, as Titular Bishop of Modra.*

Born in Indianapolis, Jimmy Ryan played football at Duquesne University, taught psychology and became president of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana. Called to Washington in 1921 as education director of the National Catholic Welfare Conference, a pervasive

"Catholic Action" agency, he began teaching philosophy at Catholic University in 1922. Six years later Pope Pius XI appointed him rector. Founded some 40 years ago, Catholic University is the only one in the U. S. controlled by the Pope and the U. S. hierarchy. It is designated to meet non-Catholic universities on their own ground, but not all Catholics have supported it or given as much money to annual collections as the clergy could wish. Rector Ryan reorganized it, gave it a new constitution. Despite criticism from within the church he admitted women to the Graduate School, increased the number of laymen on his faculty, expanded the Graduate School fourfold to 650 students and the University itself to some 1,600. When a rich benefactor de manded the resignation of a professor, Rector Ryan stood up for the professor and lost a potential gift of $1,000,000. Some Catholics regretted that. But during the past few years under Rector Ryan the University income has increased 60%, with a present endowment of $3,000,000 and annual gifts of $450,000.

*A titular bishopric is an honorary assignment to an ancient, disused see. Modra was in Asia Minor.

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