From Godzdogz:
He was born on 13th January 1916 and so would have been 94 at his next birthday. He made profession on 30th September 1936 and so was almost 73 years professed. He was ordained on 25th July 1941 and so had just celebrated 68 years of priesthood. His was a remarkable life. After schooling at Ampleforth he spent a year in France before joining the Order. He was master of (lay)brothers for many years, taught philosophy, and was bursar at Hawkesyard, and was later regent of studies at Oxford.
Br. Lawrence was at the requiem Mass and captured these, amongst other, photos:
Requiescat in pace
The Mass, which had the church near to full capacity, saw chants used from the Dominican gradual, and, as seen in the photos, black vestments used -- a liturgical colour from our tradition that, as a symbol, speaks so poignantly to our sorrow and sober reserve in the face of death, even while the gold and silver that it is so often paired with can speak to our Christian hope in the resurrection.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Ryan. Indeed, please keep in mind generally the importance for praying for the holy souls and, in particular, offering Masses for their repose. One has the sense today that this is an aspect we need to further recover as part of popular piety.
To see further images of the Mass and burial, visit Br. Lawrence's photoset.
