Today is Saturday, August 26, 2023
St Mark the Evangelist was born in the early 1st century in North Africa.
He is well known for being the author of the Gospel according to Mark and the founder and also bishop of the Church of Alexandria, Egypt.
St. Mark died in the year 68 AD in North Africa. We celebrate his feast day on April 25 every year in the Catholic Church.
He is recognized as one of the early bishops who became Saints.
| Saint Mark the Evangelist Biography | |
|---|---|
| |
| Date of Birth | 1st Century AD |
| Profession | Author of the Gospel of Mark and founder and bishop of the Church of Alexandria |
| Place of Work | Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Libya |
| Date of Death | 68 AD |
| Place of Death | North Africa |
| Feast Day | April 25 |
| Canonization | Pre-Congregation |
| Patron Saint of | Barristers, Venice, Egypt, Mainar |
Saint Mark’s Life History
Saint Mark is believed to be the cousin of Barnabas, a significant disciple in early Christianity who is mentioned in Acts 14:14. According to Luke 10:1, he is also considered to be one of the seventy disciples sent by Jesus to spread the gospel in Judea.
It is believed that St. Mark the Evangelist is the same person mentioned as ‘John Mark’ in the Acts of the Apostles, which is an account of the early Church included in the New Testament canon.
Saint Mark the Evangelist Birth
Saint Mark the Evangelist was born in Cyrene, which is now in present-day Libya in the first century.
Saint Mark’s Death
According to historical sources, it is believed that Saint Mark the Evangelist was imprisoned and ultimately killed as a martyr.
It is said that he was dragged by a rope tied around his neck from Alexandria to Bucoles, a small port, in the year 68 AD.
Despite attempts to burn his body, they were unsuccessful, and his fellow Christians retrieved his remains and buried them in the Church of Alexandria, which he had founded.
However, his relics were later taken and transferred to Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Italy. Saint Mark died at the age of 63.
Ethnicity
Saint Mark was believed to be of the tribe, Judah.
Saint Mark the Evangelist Education
He was an apprentice of Saint Peter the Apostle after an encounter with him. He traveled with Saint Peter as his companion and interpreter.
St. Mark the Evangelist Parents
St. Mark’s mother was Saint Mary of Jerusalem.
Saint Mark the Evangelist Religious life
In 44 A.D., Mark accompanied St Paul and St. Barnabas on their inaugural missionary journey to Antioch. However, during their travels in Cyprus, Mark is said to have departed from the group and returned to Jerusalem, possibly due to feelings of homesickness (as recorded in Acts 13:13).
This action may have caused Paul to doubt Mark’s dependability as a missionary. The disagreement between Paul and Barnabas regarding Mark’s trustworthiness resulted in Paul refusing to allow Mark to join them on their second journey to the churches in Cilicia and the rest of Asia Minor.
He encountered Saint Peter the Apostle where he was taken as a companion and an interpreter. Mark wrote sermons of Saint Peter thus composing the Gospel according to Mark before he left for Alexandria in the third year, that is in the year 43 AD.
According to Acts 15:39, he went to Cyprus with Barnabas after the council of Jerusalem. Then in 49 AD, Saint Mark the Evangelist founded the Church of Alexandria and became the first bishop of Alexandria.
He is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa. He also set up a Christian school in Alexandria. He is also said to be the founder of Anchorites, people who withdraw from secular life to lead a prayer-intensive life, as illustrated by Saint Jerome.
Canonization
Saint Mark the Evangelist was canonized pre-congregation, before the set up of modern investigations performed by the congregation for the causes of saints.
Saint Mark’s Feast day
St. Mark the Evangelist is celebrated on the 25th of April, the day believed to be his death.St. Mark is venerated by all Christians who recognize saints.
Major works
His major works are;
- He was the first pioneer of Christianity in Africa.
- He founded and became the first bishop of the Church he founded in Alexandria.
- He brought about the founding of the first Christian school in Alexandria.
- He is famously known to be the author of the gospel according to Mark as explained by Saint Peter the Apostle and giving it such profound imagery and vivid coloring by the use of language such as;
- Jesus was “with the beasts;”
- That He slept in the boat “on a pillow;”
- That He “embraced” the little children.
- Saint Mark preserves for us the commanding words “Peace, be still!” by which the storm was quelled and the very sounds of His voice, the “Ephpheta” and “Talitha cumi,” by which the dumb were made to speak and the dead to rise.
- The “looking round about with anger,” and the “sighing deeply,” long treasured in the memory of the penitent apostle, who was himself converted by his Saviour’s look, are here recorded by his faithful interpreter.
Saint Mark the Evangelist Attributes
Saint Mark is represented as holding the gospel and writing. He is also represented as a lion in the desert and a bishop on a throne decorated with lions. He is portrayed also as a man with a book and a scroll accompanied with a winged lion.
St Mark’s Legacy
His main legacy is his authorship of the gospel according to Mark. He is the founder of a Christian school and a church in Alexandria.
Saint Mark the Evangelist Major shrines
Saint Mark’s major shrines are; Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, Saint Mark’s Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, Egypt, St Mark’s Sebian Orthodox Church in Belgrade, Serbia and the St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt.
St Mark’s Relics
His relics were first in Alexandria. In 828, they were stolen by two Venetian merchants and in 1094, Saint Mark revealed the location of his remains by extending an arm from a pillar. The remains were then placed in a sarcophagus.
Part of his relics are believed to be in Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo while his head is said to be in a Church in Alexandria, Egypt.
In June, the year 1968, Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria sent a delegation to Rome to receive a relic of St Mark from Pope Paul VI which was but a small bone.
St Mark is the Patron Saint of
Saint Mark was the patron saint of Venice, lawyers, painters, interpreters and lions.
St Mark’s Prayers
St Mark the Evangelist has prayers composed in honor for example;
The prayer to St Mark;
Oh, magnificent Saint Mark, by the mercy of our Heavenly Father, you became a renowned Evangelist, spreading the message of Christ’s Gospel. Please guide us in our quest to understand Him better, so that we may live our lives as faithful disciples of Christ. Amen.
Quotes
Famous St. Mark’s quotes are as follows;
“Do not become a disciple of one who praises himself in case you learn pride instead of humility”
“For what shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul”
Today’s Catholic Quote
Learn from St. Mark to keep the image of the Son of man ever before your mind, and to ponder every syllable which fell from His lips.
Related Links
- Feast of Saint John, Apostle and Evangelist – 1 John 1:1-4
- Bible Verse of the Day for April 25 2023 – Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist – Mark 16:15-20
- Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist Feast Day – December 27
- Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist – Year B
- Catholic Daily Mass Readings for December 27 2023, Feast of St John, Apostle and Evangelist – Homily
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FAQs
Saint Mark the Evangelist - Feast Day - April 25? ›
Saint Mark's Day, or the Feast of Saint Mark, commemorates Mark the Evangelist and takes place on April 25.
Why is St. Mark's feast day April 25? ›As with saints generally, St. Mark's feast day is the day of his death. On April 25th, 68 A.D., he was dragged through the streets of Alexandria for his faith in Christ, leaving both blood and flesh on the pavement stones. During the entire time he never ceased praising God and thanking Him for his sufferings.
What is the reflection of the feast day of St. Mark? ›It was a truth for which St Mark gave his whole life and for which he was prepared to lay it down, confident in the certainty that, having himself conquered death, he would bring those who believe in him to that eternal life of God which he truly promises.
Why do we celebrate Saint Mark the Evangelist? ›Although he was not a direct disciple of Jesus, Saint Mark is the author of one of the four Gospel accounts and played a vital role in spreading the Gospel as a missionary in the early church. Mark is featured throughout the Basilica in a variety of beautiful domes and chapels.
What is Saint Mark the Evangelist the patron saint of? ›Mark is celebrated on April 25th. St. Mark is the patron saint of notaries, attorneys, lawyers, barristers, captives, prisoners, imprisoned people, glaziers, and stained glass workers. St.
What is the feast of April 25? ›Saint Mark's Day, or the Feast of Saint Mark, commemorates Mark the Evangelist and takes place on April 25.
Why do we celebrate this feast day? ›Feast Days, or Holy Days, are days which are celebrated in commemoration of the sacred mysteries and events recorded in the history of our redemption, in memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles, martyrs, and saints, by special services and rest from work.
What is the key message of Mark? ›In summary, Mark's Gospel is a narrative proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God, whose death and resurrection paid the penalty for our sins and achieved victory over Satan, sin, and death.
What does St. Mark teach us? ›He wrote his Gospel to help people know that Jesus was the Son of God who suffered and died to save us from sin and death. When we read Mark's Gospel, we learn that to be a follower of Jesus, we, too, must be willing to make sacrifices, to “take up our cross and follow” (Mark 8:34) Jesus as he asks us to do.
What could we learn from Saint Mark? ›We learn that our relationship with Christ should be very personal, and remember that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. We learn from Mark that, in an incredibly short time, the world can change. And Mark's life illustrates for us that even sinners and outcasts are welcomed by Jesus.
Why do people pray to St. Mark? ›
Mark is the patron saint of barristers. You can ask him to pray for you if you are a barrister, or you can ask him to pray for a barrister whom you know. You can pray the St. Mark Novena for any intention!
What is the Gospel according to Saint Mark? ›Mark's Gospel stresses the deeds, strength, and determination of Jesus in overcoming evil forces and defying the power of imperial Rome. Mark also emphasizes the Passion, predicting it as early as chapter 8 and devoting the final third of his Gospel (11–16) to the last week of Jesus' life.
What is the story about Saint Mark? ›St. Mark's real labor lays in Africa. He left Rome to Pentapolis, where he was born. After planting the seeds of faith and performing many miracles he traveled to Egypt, through the Oasis, the desert of Libya, Upper Egypt and then entered Alexandria from its eastern gate in 61 A.D.
What miracles did St. Mark do? ›It has recently been shown that this picture does not, as was long assumed, show the rediscovery of the body of St Mark on June 25, 1094, but various miracles of healing worked by the patron saint of Venice: he is depicted raising a man from the dead, restoring a blind man's sight, and casting out devils.
What book of the Bible did St. Mark write? ›The first attempt to tell the story of the life and the death of Jesus, this narrative began the gospel tradition. The gospel of Mark is the second to appear in the New Testament, but most scholars now agree that it was composed first.
Was Mark in the Bible African? ›They also spoke Roman, Punic, Berber and Nilotic (Oden 2011a:20). John Mark was most likely born close to Cyrene which is in the region of Cyrenaica (sometimes identified as Ptolemais or Barku) in North Africa between 5 and 15 CE (Oden 2011a:21, 45).
Who is the saint for April 25 2023? ›Today is the feast of St. Mark the evangelist, author of the earliest Gospel. The responsorial psalm–Psalm 89–and the refrain–“Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord”–are profoundly appropriate for the celebration of an evangelist.
What feast is 25th March Catholic? ›The Feast of the Annunciation, one of the principal feasts of the Christian church, is celebrated on March 25 (Lady Day), nine months before Christmas.
What Catholic saint feast day is April 24? ›Saint Fidelis' feast day in the Catholic Church is celebrated on 24 April.
What feast day is April 26? ›The Tridentine Calendar reserved 26 April as the feast day of Saint Cletus, who the church honoured jointly with Pope Marcellinus, and 13 July for solely Saint Anacletus.