One of the four evangelists who recorded the Good News of Jesus Christ is St. Mark, author of the second Gospel. From early times, his has been considered the first written Gospel (about 70 A.D.). St. Mark was the son of Mary of Jerusalem (Acts 12:12) whose home became a meeting place for the apostles. He is also the cousin of St. Barnabas (Colossians 4:10), a Levite and a Cypriot.
Mark joined St. Paul and St. Barnabas on their first missionary journey to Antioch in 44 A.D. When they reached Cyprus, Christian tradition holds that Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem, (Acts 13:13). This created a disagreement between Paul and Barnabas and led Paul to exclude Mark on their second journey to the churches of Cilicia and the rest of Asia Minor. However, it can be assumed the troubles between Paul and Mark did not last long, because when Paul was first imprisoned, Mark, who was at the time in Rome with plans of visiting Asia Minor, visited him as one of his trusted companions (Col 4:10). St. Mark also held a close relationship with St. Peter, who referred to Mark has ‘his son’ in his letter addressed to a number of churches in Asia Minor (1 Peter 5:13). St. Mark lived for years in Alexandria, where he died as a martyr while being dragged through the streets. Mark’s Gospel was believed to be written between 60 and 70 A.D. and was based upon the teachings of St. Peter. One of the world’s most famous piazzas is in front of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. It was named after St. Mark in 829 A.D. when Venetian agents stole his body from Alexandria in Egypt and took it to Venice. There is an ancient legend that links St. Mark with Venice. As the story goes, St Mark was caught in a storm, and took cover on an island in a small lagoon where the city of Venice is located. It is said an angel, in the form of a winged lion appeared and said, “ Peace to you Mark, my Evangelists, rest your body here.” The words were considered prophecy when St. Mark’s body was later taken to rest there. The winged lion is the symbol of Venice. In the book of Ezekiel, the prophet has a vision of four creatures, one of which is a winged lion. The four creatures have come to represent the four evangelists. The lion is the symbol for St. Mark, the Patron Saint of Notaries, Lawyers & City of Venice. Since the ninth century, April 25 has been celebrated as the feast day of St. Mark. In Australia as this is Anzac Day, St. Mark’s feast is celebrated at a later date. St Mark, Pray for us.