Birmingham, Alabama USA.- Br. Marion Mary of the Holy Name of Mary, Apostle
of the Brown Scapular and Perpetually Professed member of the Franciscan
Missionaries of the Eternal Word, has died at the age of 59. Funeral plans
have not been finalized; however, it is likely that the funeral Mass will be
broadcast live on EWTN, on Thursday, December 10th, at 8 a.m. Eastern.
Born as Frank Giglio, in Brooklyn, New York, Br. Marion became a successful
businessman and the owner of several companies. He was well known in
Washington, New Jersey at the Blue Army shrine as a generous benefactor and
an avid supporter of the work of spreading the message of Our Lady of Fatima.
His own particular ministry was to distribute the Brown Scapular of Our Lady
of Mount Carmel – a work he continued until his death. It is estimated that
he gave away over 300,000 Brown Scapulars.

Upon the death of his wife, he felt a strong urge to enter religious life.
In 1988, after arranging for the welfare of his two children, Frank, Jr. and
Karen, he joined a new community of Priest and Brothers being formed by
Mother Angelica: the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word. It was
expected that he would use his business acumen to assist the works of EWTN,
however the good Lord and our Blessed Lady had another apostolate planned for
him. For shortly after his arrival, he began to suffer from a rare form of
cancer. Told he had only a few months to live, Br. Marion survived ten years
of slowly increasing disability, eventually being confined to a motorized
wheelchair. Over the years, numerous visitors to EWTN were touched by the
shaky hand holding out a Brown Scapular to them. And those who knew him well
marveled at his courage and his patient endurance. One of the messages of
Our Lady of Fatima was to pray and offer-up sufferings for the conversion of
poor sinners, this was something that Br. Marion fulfilled – even to an
heroic degree.

After lingering for many years in a state of partial remission from his
cancer, Br. Marion's condition began to deteriorate earlier this year,
becoming much worse last Friday. Saturday evening, with his fellow Friars
reverently kneeling around his bed, Br. Marion renewed his vows one last
time, and the superior of the community, Fr. Joseph Wolfe, MFVA, absolved him
from all his sins, re-enrolled him in the Brown Scapular and renewed his
consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to the formula of St.
Louis Marie de Montfort. The community was again assembled around his bed,
reciting the prayers for the dying when Br. Marion quietly breathed forth his
soul, early Sunday afternoon. The Priest who was present at his deathbed,
later remarked that he had sensed a strong presence of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. For those who knew Br. Marion, that is not at all surprising.

Although his cancer left him disabled and made speech difficult, Br. Marion
always said the same thing, when asked if he had any advice. "Pray!" he would
answer, true to the Fatima message. Another of his favorite prayers was:
"Blessed Mother, help me to trust Jesus more." And that is just what she did…

Br. Marion Mary of the Holy Name of Mary – Apostle of the Brown Scapular.

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