Tribunal of Inquiry closed into Father Patrick Ryan for Sainthood

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – 145 years ago, a Chattanooga priest sacrificed his life during one of Chattanooga’s worst epidemics.

Now, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul are one step closer to give him the ultimate honor.

They will hold the closing session of the Tribunal of Inquiry for Father Patrick Ryan on Thursday evening.

The inquiry was opened three years ago as many records have been collected on the life of Father Ryan.

The main objective of this session is to bless six volumes of documents that will be shipped to the Vatican for the Holy See’s consideration.

Through this process, they want as many people to know the story of Father Ryan.

The pastor and rector at the Basilica, Father David Carter, said, “What sets him apart, is that in 1878 during the yellow fever epidemic when everybody chose to flee, he chose voluntarily to remain, to minister, and to attend and to accompany; the sick, the suffering, the dying, from the disease.”

According to the National Park Service, at least 366 people died as a result of yellow fever in Chattanooga in the summer of 1878.

It was a part of a larger outbreak across the South.

Deacon Gaspar DeGaetano at the Basilica added, “He had volunteered to go to a very desperate city, he had volunteered to go to Memphis when the yellow fever was raging there… What happened is the yellow fever got here and when it got here about 85 percent of the population left.”

Father Patrick Ryan is remembered for his heroic actions, but the hope at the Basilica  is that his name can be immortalized with sainthood.

Only 11 Americans have been canonized by the Vatican.

The process of collecting the documents is arduous as no stone can be left unturned.

DeGaetano said, “The problem is, sometimes records disappear. He was born in Ireland, and we have not been able to find an Irish birth certificate, or I should say a Irish baptismal certificate.”

Even though Thursday night’s events are the culmination of the Tribunal of Inquiry, Father Patrick Ryan still has a ways to go before he is a saint.

Fr. Carter said, “The expectation is that within a year or two, we will hear back from them whether or not the cause is venerable, worthy of veneration.”

On Thursday evening, the documents being sealed and sent to Rome represent the Basilica’s ultimate goal.

Fr. Carter said, “Producing saints is the mission of the church. Holy people who have been touched by the grace of God to offer their lives like Christ to one another in Christian charity.”