Blessed Marcel Callo

Marcel Callo (6 December 1921 – 19 March 1945) was a French Catholic member of the Young Christian Workers, a Catholic Action movement inspiring lay participation and solidarity with the poor. Callo served as an apprentice at a print store from the age of thirteen before joining Catholic associations in France. He was conscripted to serve during World War II and the Gestapo arrested him in 1944 for his Christian activities. He died in the Mauthausen concentration camp after being forced to do long hours of labour. Because he died for his Catholic faith, Pope John Paul II beatified him on 4 October 1987. Marcel Callo was born in Rennes on 6 December 1921 as the second of nine children to Marcel Callo and Felicita Maria Giuseppina; one brother was Giovanni (who became a priest) and a sister was Maria Maddalena. Callo was known as a child for being a leader-like figure and for his perfectionist attitude. He was known for his good sense of humor as well as for his fondness of games such as ping pong and cards. He attended a range of schools in Rennes and also served as an altar server until the age of seven. Callo became a Scout at the age of ten in 1931 and considered himself to be as such for the remainder of his life; he left them at the age of eleven. Callo gained work as an apprentice at the age of thirteen on 1 October 1934 in a printing store in Rennes. Callo did not like to associate himself with fellow workers who swore or who told improper stories and aligned himself with fellow Christians. He was in a work camp in Zella-Mehlis during the Nazi era. Here he began his Catholic work He joined the Young Christian Workers – also known as the Jocists – in 1935 that Joseph Leo Cardijn (future cardinal) had established.