The Ruth and Paul Manz Organ

Built in 2004 for the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, the “Ruth and Paul Manz” organ is so named to acknowledge the contribution of the Manz’s to the world of church music. When Blessed Sacrament purchased the instrument in 2023, it was decided to keep the name as a way of paying homage both to the origins of the organ and to the work of Ruth and Paul.

The Manz organ is 26 feet tall, 16 feet wide, 9 feet deep, and weighs approximately 18,000 pounds. At 30 ranks it is a substantial two manual organ, with independent 16-foot stops on both manuals, as well as a variety of other colors. The specification of the instrument can be found here.

In its new home at Blessed Sacrament the organ will accompany weekend Masses, including choral anthems, congregational hymnody and psalmody, and the noon choral Mass each week. It will be available for use by the community and parishioners and will be featured four times yearly in the Manz Organ Recital series. The recital series will feature Blessed Sacrament’s own organists, organists from the Northwest, and one concert organist brought in yearly from anywhere in the world.