Father Ricky Manalo, CSP, Ph.D. is a Paulist priest, liturgical composer, and author. He is the recipient of the 2018 Pastoral Musician of the Year Award by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. He studied composition and piano at the Manhattan School of Music, theology at the Washington Theological Union, and liturgy, culture, and sociology at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), Berkeley, CA.
Father Manalo is also known for pioneering and popularizing Asian Catholic liturgical music in the United States with his hymns, including:
"Ang Katawan Ni Kristo" (Filipino: "The Body of Christ")
"By the Waking of Our Hearts"
"Many and Great"
His music has been sung during the Papal Masses of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. More recently, his Mass of Spirit and Grace was the musical setting chosen for Pope Francis' Eucharistic celebration in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 5, 2019.