On Monday February 2, David Ryan became the first abuse survivor to have a private audience with Pope Leo alone, an experience that he said he will “never forget”.
Prior to meeting Pope Leo, Mr Ryan outlined his plan for the meeting: he had questions for the pontiff and wanted to share both his story and that of his brother Mark, who passed away in 2023. In honour of Mark, Mr Ryan wore a pair of his cuff links to the private audience with the Pope.
Mr Ryan, who was abused by Spiritan priests at Blackrock College in the 1970s, was featured in the RTÉ documentary Blackrock Boys, along with Mark, who also suffered abuse at the school. Mr Ryan also stated to RTÉ in 2024 that he had been abused by the Jesuit priest Fr Dermot Casey at St Declan’s Special School before his time at Blackrock.
Speaking to RTÉ after the meeting at the Vatican, Mr Ryan described the Pope’s empathy for his experience as “genuine”, and said “he was so sorry to hear of my pain…and for the other survivors who haven’t come forward yet”.
According to Mr Ryan, Pope Leo expressed his hope that the meeting might inspire other victims and survivors of abuse to come forward.
During the private audience, which lasted 45 minutes, Mr Ryan was able to speak about his late brother with the pontiff, who blessed a photo of Mark. “I think Mark would be happy,” Mr Ryan said. “He just listened to me. I put my questions to him. And we spoke about each question in length and he will do everything he can.”
After the meeting, Mr Ryan said he felt “at ease” and that sitting with Pope Leo “made his day”.
Mr Ryan was accompanied to the Vatican by One in Four CEO Deirdre Kenny, who was invited to meet Pope Leo after Mr Ryan’s audience with him.
