Our Clergy

Father Diego Alejandro Jimenez Olaya, born on Feb. 18, 1983, in Antioquia, Colombia, and his sister, Paula, were reared in the faith by their parents, Luis Eduardo Jimenez and Maria Auxilio Olaya. He also served as an altar server in his parish from age 10 to 18. At age 15 and while in high school, he entered into a special seminary formation program, studying philosophy, attending conferences and participating in community prayer. Father Jimenez Olaya attended seminary at the Diocese of Caldas and studies Philosophy and Theology at the Universidad Pontifica Bolivariana in Medellin, Colombia. For one year, he worked in an Indian mission in the mountains of Colombia, and also taught religious education at the high school level. He studied American History at St. Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y and Theology at University Santo Tomas, Spain. Also at Holy Apostles Seminary. During his seminary years at United States , he served at St. Louis Parish in West Haven, the Cathedral of St. Joseph, and St. Augustine Parish in Hartford.     Father Jimenez Olaya was assigned as parochial vicar at St. Augustine, St. Anne and St Lawrence O'Toole in Hartford for four years and the last two years as Parish Admnistrator of Sacred Heart/ Sagrado Corazon and St. Margaret Parishes.

 Father Eric Zuniga, was born in New Jersey, a son of Mexican immigrants. The family moved to New Britain in 1980, and Eric and his brother Omar went to Sacred Heart School. “I think I always had the calling [to the priesthood], but I was in denial,” he said. “I always said, ‘No, I want to get married and have a family. I wouldn’t be a good priest.’” After receiving his first Communion, he was allowed to be an altar server, an experience he enjoyed. “We would do our half hour of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and that was something I really loved,” he said. He graduated from Sacred Heart in 1989 and joined the National Guard. He served for six years while attending Central Connecticut State University, earning a business degree in 1998. He worked in the corporate world for a few years, but felt something was missing in his life. He had heard about the apparitions in Medjugorje, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and he asked his brother to go on a pilgrimage with him. Omar hesitated, but finally agreed after Eric prayed to the Blessed Mother. They made the trip in the summer of 2001. “There was so much peace. I never felt so much peace,” he said. “We went to Mass every day. There were so many priests saying Mass in so many languages.” He said it reawakened his desire for a spiritual life. Still, he wasn’t ready — not until tragedy struck. “My brother was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2005. We took care of my brother during the year that he was sick, and he passed away in March 2006,” he wrote in a biographical essay. During those painful days, many priests helped Eric and his family to deal with Omar’s sickness and death. They helped Eric to see “what is important in life:      a life of serving others and God by embracing the cross and living with a sense of purpose,” he wrote.  “Faith is not just a Sunday deal,” he said. “It’s part of the everyday activities at school or work. There’s always a way of having Jesus present.”   Father Eric Manuel was ordained in 2017 and was assigned to St. John XXXII Parish in West Haven  as Parochial Vicar