Manuel Lozano Garrido

Despite almost total paralysis and progressive blindness, Manuel Lozano Garrido refused to be reduced to inactivity. He chose to put his talents as a writer and communicator at the service of the Gospel by becoming a professional journalist. He actively collaborated with several renowned Spanish publications, such as the daily newspaper Ya, the magazines Telva and Vida Nueva, as well as with the Associated Press news agency. His literary and journalistic work is immense. Unable to use his hands anymore, he first learned to write with his left hand, then used a typewriter as long as he retained some mobility in his fingers. When he became completely paralyzed and blind, he dictated his texts to his sister Lucía, who accompanied him with devotion, or recorded them on a tape recorder. He is the author of hundreds of articles and nine spiritual and autobiographical books. In 1956, he founded the work and magazine Sinai (Sinai), specifically intended for the sick. This original initiative aimed to break the isolation of suffering people by grouping them into small prayer communities. Each group of sick people spiritually associated itself with a contemplative monastery to offer its sufferings and prayers for media and social communication professionals. The name "Sinai" refers to Moses praying on the mountain, arms raised, to support the people of Israel.

The reputation for holiness of Manuel Lozano Garrido spread rapidly after his death, both in Spain and abroad, due to his testimony of unalterable joy in the heart of suffering.

The beatification process was officially opened on April 7, 1994, in the diocese of Jaén. After a meticulous examination of his writings and his life, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues on December 17, 2007, thus declaring him Venerable.

On December 19, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI approved a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Manuel Lozano Garrido. This miracle concerns the scientifically inexplicable healing of a two-year-old child suffering from severe multi-organ failure in 1972.

The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 12, 2010, in Linares, his hometown. It was presided over, in the name of Pope Benedict XVI, by Cardinal Angelo Amato, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Manuel Lozano Garrido thus became the first lay journalist and the first beatified person in a wheelchair to be raised to the altars in the modern era. His liturgical feast is set for November 3, the day of his birth into Heaven. His relics rest today under the high altar of the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor in Linares.

The spirituality of "Lolo" rests on two fundamental pillars: a passionate love for the Eucharist and a filial trust in the Virgin Mary. For him, suffering was not a passive fatality, but an active offering united with the sacrifice of Christ. He had obtained exceptional authorization from his bishop to have an altar in his home so that he could attend Mass and keep the Blessed Sacrament. He symbolically placed his typewriter in front of the tabernacle so that his writings would always be guided by Christ.

He is also the author of the famous "Journalist's Decalogue," in which he invites his colleagues to work with honesty, to seek the truth, and to "knead the bread of clean information with the salt of style and the leaven of eternity."

In his message for the 55th World Communications Day in 2021, Pope Francis highlighted Lolo's spiritual legacy by quoting one of his key pieces of advice to journalists: "Open your eyes with wonder to what you see, and let your hands be filled with the freshness of the sap, so that when others read you, they will touch the throbbing miracle of life with their own fingers."

Manuel Lozano Garrido remains today a model and a patron saint for journalists and communication professionals.