Carlos grew up in an extremely poor family and was an active member of the Communist Youth organization before the Spanish Civil War. He was a political prisoner of the Franco regime and served in the Spanish Foreign Legion. He worked in a fish shop and eventually started a fish shop of his own. After his conversion and joining Opus Dei, he dedicated much of his energy to trying to improve the lives of local gypsies (as people called them then) and illiterate coal miners.

Resources to learn more about Carlos Martínez:

• A website created by his friends in Oviedo (in Spanish).


• Íniguez Herrero, José Antonio, and Pablo Alvarez Valbuena. Carlos Martínez, pescadero. Un revolucionario que se encontró con Dios. Madrid: Palabra, 2011 (in Spanish, Amazon).

For more information about Opus Dei or to inquire about Opus Dei activities in your area, visit ⁠www.opusdei.org⁠.

You can buy the book "Encounters: Finding God in All Walks of Life" from ⁠Scepter Publishers⁠ or on ⁠Amazon⁠.