Fr. Ed Hontiveros, SJ

In response to Vatican II’s mandate to use the vernacular languages during mass, Fr. Ed wrote Filipino liturgical hymns that are now widely used. Two of the more popular ones are Papuri sa Diyos (Papuri sa Diyos/ Papuri sa Diyos / Papuri sa Diyos sa kaitaasan / At sa lupa'y kapayapaan) and Pananagutan (Walang sinuman ang nabubuhay, para sa sarili laming / Walang sinuman ang namamatay, para sa sarili lamang). It is said that he started the practice of singing Filipino hymns in Catholic gatherings. In 2000, he was awarded the Cross of Honour (Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice) by Pope John Paul II. His hymn Papuri was sung by a Filipino choir at St. Peter’s Basilica last 2013, in a mass officiated by Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle (this mass was held in thanksgiving for the canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod).

Photo courtesy of The Jesuit Music Ministry: New Sounds for the Present Generation; https://jesuitmusicministry.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/fr-eduardo-hon...

1) https://hymnology.hymnsam.co.uk/e/eduardo-hontiveros; 04 July 2008

2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Hontiveros

3) https://jesuitmusicministry.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/fr-eduardo-hon...