St. Mark, the Evangelist

St. Mark, the Evangelist

Feast date: Apr 25

St. Mark, the Evangelist, is the author of the second Gospel and the patron saint of notaries. He wrote the Gospel in Greek for the Gentile converts to Christianity. Tradition says the Romans asked St. Mark to record the teachings of St. Peter about Jesus. St. Mark is often depicted as a winged lion in religious art.

St. Mark is also said to have traveled with St. Paul and St. Barnabas, who was Mark’s cousin, on their missionary journey through Cyprus. Mark is said to have founded the Church in Alexandria.

St. Mark is sometimes called John Mark in the New Testament. Both he and his mother, Mary, were highly esteemed in the early Church, and his mother’s house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for Christians.