the position and returned his letter of appointment to Rome, but he eventually conceded. He received his episcopal consecration on November 8, 1868 from Archbishop John McCloskey, with Bishops John Loughlin and John Lynch serving as co-consecrators, at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo. From 1869 to 1870, he participated in the First Vatican Council. Ryan unified the Catholic school system in the diocese and established a commission to supervise it He founded the diocesan newspaper called The Catholic Union. He also engaged in a public controversy with Arthur Coxe, the Episcopal Bishop of Western New York, over the issue of apostolic succession. Ryan died on April 10, 1896 in Buffalo at age 71. He was interred next to Bishop John Timon at St. Joseph's Cathedral. His tenure as Bishop spanned 28 years, the longest in the history of the Buffalo Diocese. References External links Bishops of Buffalo, NY 1825 births 1896 deaths Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Buffalo American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent People from Almonte, Ontario Vincentian bishops St. Charles Borromeo Seminary alumni