Today, February 24, is the memorial of Blessed Marco de Marconi.
Marco was born in 1480 in Modena, Italy. He came from a pious and rich Christian family, but early on he knew he had a religious vocation. At 16, he joined the girolamini or the Order of the Hermits of St. Jerome.
He dedicated the rest of his life to the observance of his order, to mortification, and to prayer. God blessed him with many spiritual gifts.
He died of natural causes at the age of 30 in 1510. His reputation for holiness was such that his tomb became a pilgrimage destination. Years later, his holy remains were exhumed and were found to be incorrupt.
Grateful recipients of his intercession, among them bishops of Mantua, called for the official recognition of Marco’s cultus. It would take many years before a bishop of Mantua—Giuseppe Sarto—would become Pope St. Pius X and beatify Marco in 1906.