St. Mark the Evangelist

St. Mark the Evangelist, also called John Mark, belonged to the first generation of the Church. The New Testament places him within the circle of the apostles: he was connected with Barnabas, traveled for a time with Paul and Barnabas, and later became closely associated with St. Peter. Early Christian tradition treasured him as the interpreter or spiritual son of Peter and as the author of the Gospel according to Mark.

His Gospel is the shortest of the four and likely the earliest written account of the public ministry, Passion, death, and Resurrection of Christ. It moves with urgency, presenting Jesus as the Son of God who teaches with authority, casts out demons, heals the sick, suffers, dies, and rises. Through this writing Mark gave the Church a permanent apostolic witness. His symbol in Christian art is the winged lion, often connected with the powerful opening voice crying in the wilderness.

Tradition also remembers Mark as a missionary bishop in Alexandria, Egypt. There he is honored as the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the great apostolic sees of early Christianity. Later accounts say that he suffered martyrdom there, dragged by enemies of the faith and dying for the Gospel he had preached.

His relic tradition is also important. In the Middle Ages his remains were brought from Alexandria to Venice, where the Basilica of St. Mark became one of the most famous churches in Christendom. Yet his deepest legacy is not architectural but evangelical: he handed on the living memory of Christ in a form that could be proclaimed, read, prayed, and preached in every generation. St. Mark is patron of evangelists, writers, notaries, and those who carry the Gospel to new places.

The Gospel itself gives the best measure of his charism. Mark presents the disciples’ weakness plainly and the Cross sharply, as if teaching new Christians that following Jesus requires courage and repentance. His writing has always been especially suited to proclamation: brief, direct, urgent, and centered on the crucified Son of God.