A Bronx monsignor, believed to be the country’s oldest working priest, died yesterday after 47 years with St. Luke’s in Mott Haven. He was 93.
Gerald Ryan spent the last few months battling stomach cancer at Our Lady Of Consolation, a home for sick priests.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan called Father Ryan “the epitome of a what a priest should be.”
“His entire priesthood was dedicated to serving God’s people in the Archdioceses of New York,” Dolan said.
Although the church orders priests to give up being pastors at age 75, Ryan — who began his career in 1945 — continued to preside over weddings and funerals at the church on East 138th Street, where he had served since 1966.
Services will be held Monday and Tuesday.