The man behind the name of a University of St. Thomas institute

On a rainy and cold Wednesday in January 1937, Msgr. John Ryan stood in front of the U.S. Capitol building and gave the benediction for Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s second inauguration.

It was the first time there had been a public benediction at an inauguration, and it was offered by a Catholic priest from Minnesota. Ryan was not just any priest. He was a professor at Catholic University of America, taught political science at Trinity College in Washington, D.C., and was the president of the Department of Social Action of the National Catholic Welfare Conference. He had also spoken on behalf of Roosevelt’s campaign.

Ryan grew up one of 11 children on a farm in Dakota County. One of his brothers became a priest, and two of his sisters became religious sisters. Ryan went to the seminary in St. Paul three years older than most, supported by his grandfather. He was a successful student in theology, but his real passion was economics. Such courses were not offered, so he studied the topic on his own by reading books, magazines and newspapers.

After Ryan graduated and was ordained a priest in 1898, Archbishop John Ireland assigned him to study

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