Manuel Lozano Garrido, known as “Lolo,” was born on August 9, 1920 in Linares, Jaén, Kingdom of Spain. He had seven brothers and one sister.
Manuel’s father died in 1936 at the start of the Spanish Civil War. At that time, Manuel served as a Eucharistic Minister in his community, taking Communion to people in their homes. He did this until he was arrested for this activity.
When he was 22, Manuel became a soldier but always had time to attend daily Mass. Unfortunately, he suffered from spondylitis and had to leave the military because of increasingly poor health. The next year, Lolo was paralyzed and spent the rest of his life in near-constant pain and wheelchair-bound.
Despite his pain, Manuel devoted his life to serving God as a journalist. Not only did he have hundreds of his journal articles published, he also wrote nine books that he dedicated to his only sister, Lucia.
Because of his intense love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Lolo sought, and received, permission to have the Blessed Sacrament on his home altar. He put his typewriter in front of the Blessed Sacrament for guidance from the Lord as he wrote.
One of the ways Lolo did missionary work from his home was by founding a magazine for those who were sick. He called the magazine Sinai.
Lolo died on November 3, 1971 in his hometown of Linares, Jaén, Francoist Spain. He was beatified on June 12, 2010. Blessed Manuel Lozano Garrido’s feast day is the day of death, November 3.
Blessed Manuel is a patron of journalists.