Rev. Ryan Ruiz Appointed Vice Rector, Director of Formation

The story below was originally published in The Athenaeum, MTSM’s bi-annual magazine. The Athenaeum is published twice a year for alumni, patrons and friends of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology. To be added to the mailing list, contact: Heidi Walsh at 513.233.6159 or hwalsh@athenaeum.edu.

Rev. Ryan T. Ruiz, SL.D., is in his ninth year as a member of the priest faculty at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary & School of Theology and in that time has held a variety of positions. The latest of those became official on January 1 when Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr named Fr. Ruiz Vice Rector and Director of Formation for Mount St. Mary’s Seminary.

“It was an honor to be asked to take this role,” Fr. Ruiz said. “My time as a member of the faculty has allowed me to learn the intricacies of the seminary, both on the formational side and academic side of it. My role is to continue the good work of the priest faculty here, and in particular my predecessors in this position Fr. (Anthony) Brausch from when Fr. (Benedict) O’Cinnsealaigh was Rector, and Fr. (Anthony) Stephens and Fr. (Christopher) Geiger under Fr. Brausch.”

Ordained by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk in 2008, Fr. Ruiz began his priestly ministry with as Parochial Vicar at the Church of the Incarnation in Centerville. Although his three years there have been the only years of his priestly ministry spent primarily in parish life, but it is something that continues to be meaningful to him years later.

“I often tell seminarians that the experience of being a parish priest is a phenomenal gift,” Fr. Ruiz mentioned. “The faithful at my first assignment were so welcoming and supportive of me. They took me in, welcomed me, helped me and guided me. The interaction with the faithful was foundational to me as a then-newly ordained priest.”

In July 2011, Archbishop Schnurr assigned Fr. Ruiz to further studies in Rome, where he was enrolled at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm, where he would get his License (SL.L.) and Doctorate (SL.D.) in Sacred Liturgy. He reflected back on his time in Centerville and how it helped him in the Eternal City.

“My time in a parish helped me understand the value of what I was being sent to do,” Fr. Ruiz said. “It was a difficult transition from parish life to strictly academic life, but the amount of communication I got from former parishioners both via email and from those who came to visit me in Rome were great aids in keeping those connections alive and reminding me that these years of study were meant for a particular purpose, to come back home and help my diocese build the foundation of parish ministry.”

While over in Rome, Fr. Ruiz was a witness to one of the most historic modern moments in the Catholic Church when in 2013 Pope Benedict XVI abdicated the Papacy and the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

“There was a sadness when Pope Benedict resigned, but in the midst of that sadness there was a sense of hope that this is how Christ works in the midst of His Church,” Fr. Ruiz recalled. “It was very fulfilling to see Pope Benedict XVI conclude his Petrine ministry with great peace, great firmness and his trust in the fact that Christ is with His Church. On February 28, when his resignation took effect, I stood on the roof of my house and watched the Holy Father’s helicopter as it left the Vatican to go to Castel Gandolfo, making a pass over the city with many others on their rooftops.

“On the day Pope Francis was elected, I had an evening class; it was raining, and since it was the second day of what was thought was going to be a long conclave, I was ready to go home for the night,” Fr. Ruiz continued. “However, I had an Argentinian classmate with a car who said he was going to St. Peter’s Square, and convinced me to ride down with him. When we parked and got out, we could hear the bells of St. Peter’s ringing, and we knew a new Pope had been elected. Being able to stand in the Square with an Argentinian who knew then-Cardinal Bergoglio and getting his first impressions along with the ceremony around the unveiling of a new Pope was electric. It is seared in my memory of a great grace and blessing the Lord has given me.”

Fr. Ruiz returned to MTSM in Fall 2016 to begin his tenure as Assistant Professor of Liturgy and Sacrament and Director of Liturgy. In 2019, Fr. Ruiz was appointed Dean of Special Studies, the former division of the institution that was restructured into the current School of Theology in 2020, with Fr. Ruiz assuming the role of Dean of School of Theology. In 2023, he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor. His five years leading the School of Theology gave him an important view of another angle of formation.

“It was helpful for learning more about the intellectual side of formation,” Fr. Ruiz said. “Though my oversight is now on human formation, it helps to understand the dynamics that students face in writing a thesis or working towards a comprehensive exam. Our seminarians have rigorous schedules in their liturgical and academic lives, and all that while doing that they still have to engage their pastoral and communal responsibilities, along with time for rest, fraternity and recreation. My prior roles at the seminary have certainly been nice training for my current role.”

All of those experiences have given Fr. Ruiz an understanding of the universality of the Church that he seeks to give the men in preparation for the priesthood at MTSM.

“A man preparing for life in the priesthood needs to have a sense of how the local Church interacts with the universal Church, and how the universal Church informs the local,” Fr. Ruiz observed. “The universality of the Catholic Church is a unique ‘melting pot’ spread throughout the world; my job is to help seminarians realize that universality and to live it out in a healthy and dynamic manner in their ministries.”