Fr. Ralph was born on July 2, 1961 to Ralph and Irene Recker of New Cleveland, Ohio. He is the youngest of twelve children. His brother, Fr. Odo is also a monk of Mount Angel Abbey. He graduated from Miller City High School in 1979 and St. Meinrad College in 1983. He spent most of the next twenty years in San Antonio, Texas working for Valero Corporation as a retail manager. In 2003, he joined Mount Angel Abbey and professed vows in 2004. He was ordained a priest on June 27, 2009, and became a Formation Director and Director of Student Services in the Seminary, a position he held until July of this year when Abbot Jeremy reassigned him to become the next Pastor of St. Mary Parish in Mt. Angel.