Marco da Montegallo was born in 1425 in
Montegallo - in the province of
Ascoli Piceno - to a nobleman from the Marches of
Ancona. Marco founded stores in
Fano in 1471 and in
Arcevia in 1483. He knew Blessed Domenico da Leonessa. He preached across various Italian cities and in 1494 in
Florence published a book while issuing another edition in
Siena in 1495 while preaching for
Lent. The plague ravaged
Camerino and he assured the people that it would cease if all the people repented from their sins and confessed in a move that prompted them all to flock to him and confess - this caused the plague epidemic to stop. In 1480 he became a promoter and collector of tithes for the crusade against the
Ottoman Empire after
Pope Sixtus IV appointed him to that position. The priest decided to fast in Lent in 1496 and in the middle of the Lenten season grew ill. On his deathbed he asked a companion to provide him with the sacraments for the final time and asked another to read him the words: "He bowed His head and gave up the ghost" at which point the ailing Marco died from his illness on 19 March 1496 in Vicenza. His remains were interred though later relocated in 1522 in the church of Saint Biagio but were later interred in a chapel in the church of San Giuliano in 1797. ==Beatification==