Manuel Olay Colunga
Seminarian of Oviedo, martyr of the persecution in Spain
Who they were
Born at Noreña on 25 July 1911, he entered the minor seminary of Valdediós in 1926 and then the major seminary of Oviedo; in 1937 he was seized on 18 July while travelling with a newly ordained priest to a first Mass, was held in several places and was killed at Villafría, near Oviedo, on 22 September 1937. Pope Francis beatified him with Ángel Cuartas Cristóbal and his eight companions on 9 March 2019.
The miracles
As a martyr he was raised to the altars without a miracle.
Why that counted as sanctity
The decree on martyrdom records that he was seized on the way to a first Mass and killed after being held inhumanly in several places.
The cause
The cause continues. No postulation address is published here yet. Favours received through this person’s intercession, and offers of help, are best sent to the religious order or congregation they belonged to, or to the diocese where the cause was opened; either will pass them to the postulation.
Connected on this site
- Ángel Cuartas Cristóbal Blessed“Pope Francis beatified him with Ángel Cuartas Cristóbal and his eight companions on 9 March 2019.” — this site's research
- Acta Apostolicae Sedis 111 (2019), p. 1801 - decree on martyrdom
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - beatifications of 9 March 2019
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.