Mr Ryan is the first clerical sexual abuse survivor who met the Pope alone since he was appointed in May 2025.
During the meeting, which lasted for approximately 45 minutes, Pope Leo apologised to David Ryan for what he had gone through.
Speaking to RTÉ after the audience, Mr Ryan said Pope Leo “felt his pain” and described him as a “lovely man”.
“Just amazing, what a lovely, lovely man. So at ease, we just sat down as if it was just like talking to Mark,” he told RTÉ.
Mr Ryan brought a picture of his brother Mark, who passed away in 2023, who was also an abuse survivor.
During the audience, they spoke about Blackrock College in Dublin, where David and Mark Ryan had been sexually abused as children during the 1970s.
“He looked at Mark’s photograph and everything, we spoke about Mark,” he said.
The 62-year-old put a few questions to the Pope, who “listened to him”, and they spoke about each question “in length”.
“He will do everything he can. I’m not going to say anything yet, but what a lovely man, what an experience. I’ll never forget it.
“His sincerity, his empathy. He felt my pain, but he hasn’t experienced my pain; he knows what pain I had gone through and my family.
“It made my day, and I’m so glad I did it, and I think Mark would be happy. And he gave a blessing to Mark’s photograph that I had,” he said, visibly emotional.
Mr Ryan, who lives in Tipperary, also brought a St Brigid’s cross for the Pope, which the pontiff “loved”, and they spoke about it.
The Pope said he hoped that more survivors would come forward and speak out about the abuse they suffered.
“He said he was so sorry to hear of my pain, for my family’s pain, and for the other survivors that haven’t come forward yet.
“And he said, for me speaking to him today, hopefully that some other people will come forward and speak about it,” he said.
CEO of One in Four charity, Deirdre Kenny, also met with the Pope for 10 minutes to speak about the organisation.
Meanwhile, producer of RTÉ’s Blackrock Boys documentary from 2022, Liam O’Brien, said it was “certainly a very emotional meeting”.
“Pope Leo spoke about how he had listened to the documentary,” he told RTÉ Radio 1’s News at One. “He spoke about specific parts of David’s story that he found very moving.”
He said Mr Ryan is “unbelievably delighted” and “really happy” with today’s meeting.
“Considering how far his story has gone, and the effects of his story, in terms of a Garda investigation, the Spiritan schools, commission of investigation, and now, a visit to the Pope, who has listened to his story and has empathised with him.
“It’s a first for any survivor to meet Pope Leo in a one-to-one. He has met survivors last autumn, but they were a group of 15 from Belgium and another six.
“So David was in a one-to-one meeting. It was literally Pope Leo and David in the library overlooking St Peter’s Square for 45 minutes, just the two of them speaking together.
“So it’s a very intimate and unique meeting. It hasn’t happened before, so I think in that regard, it’s significant,” he added.