Fr. Ryan Asher

Fr. Ryan Asher came to Divine Child as an associate pastor in July 2025. He grew up in Plymouth and was raised Catholic by his parents, Roy and Judy, along with his younger brother, Matthew. Both of his parents worked for Ford for over 20 years, so he has felt a strong connection to Dearborn throughout his life.

Fr. Ryan received the sacraments at Our Lady of Good Counsel, attended grade school there, and later went on to U of D Jesuit High School (Class of 2014). During his high school years, he would often attend the 6:30 am Mass at Good Counsel before heading to class. Attending daily Mass was, and remains, deeply formative for his faith.

He then attended Hillsdale College (Class of 2018), where he majored in mathematics. Active in campus ministry throughout his time there, Fr. Ryan found it to be a joyful and spiritually enriching experience — one that ultimately led him to apply to the seminary.

He entered seminary in 2018, beginning his studies at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. In March 2020, just two weeks into the initial COVID-19 lockdown, he and the other seminarians left Sacred Heart. During that time, he lived with Fr. Jim Bilot at St. Paul’s in Grosse Pointe. It was then that he received an unexpected call from the Archbishop, inviting him to continue his seminary formation in Rome.

Though initially shocked and intimidated by the idea of living abroad for five years, through prayer and discernment Fr. Ryan recognized God’s clear call to trust and say “yes.” He studied in Rome for the next few years and was ordained a priest on May 18, 2024. Following ordination, he was assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington for the summer. In September, he returned to Rome for the academic year to complete an additional degree focusing on "Patristic Theology" or the early Church Fathers. After five years abroad, Fr. Ryan is grateful to be back in the United States full time and grateful to be able to share his faith here at Divine Child.