Saint Mark, Evangelist
S. Marci Evangelistae
Saint Mark, the writer of the second Gospel, was a companion of the Apostles and, by ancient tradition, the disciple and interpreter of Saint Peter and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, where he is venerated as a martyr.
Saint Mark holds an honoured place among the Evangelists, for to him the Holy Ghost entrusted the writing of the second of the four Gospels. He is commonly identified with the John Mark of whom the Acts of the Apostles speak, the son of that Mary of Jerusalem in whose house the faithful gathered to pray, and a kinsman of Saint Barnabas. He shared for a time in the labours of Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas, and the Apostle Saint Peter, writing from Rome, calls him affectionately “my son Mark.”
The interpreter of Saint Peter
The most ancient witnesses of the Church, among them Papias and Saint Irenaeus, hand down that Saint Mark was the disciple and interpreter of Saint Peter, and that he set down in his Gospel the things which he had heard the Prince of the Apostles preach concerning the words and deeds of the Lord. His Gospel is the shortest and the most vivid of the four, swift in its movement and rich in the small details of an eyewitness’s memory, and the Church reads it as the faithful echo of Saint Peter’s own testimony to Christ.
Founder of Alexandria and martyr
By the constant tradition of both East and West, Saint Mark carried the Gospel to Egypt and became the founder and first bishop of the great Church of Alexandria, where he is honoured as a martyr who sealed his preaching with his blood. In later ages his relics were translated to Venice, of which city he became the heavenly patron, and his emblem, the winged lion, is known throughout Christendom. The liturgy assigns to his feast the Greater Litanies, the ancient procession of supplication kept on this day, joining the memory of the Evangelist to the Church’s prayer for the fruits of the earth and the needs of her children.
The Collect
O God, who didst raise up blessed Mark, Thy Evangelist, by the grace of evangelical preaching: grant, we beseech Thee; that we may ever profit by his teaching and be defended by his prayers. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Deus, qui beátum Marcum Evangelístam tuum evangélicæ prædicatiónis grátia sublimásti: tríbue, quǽsumus; eius nos semper et eruditióne profícere, et oratióne deféndi. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.
Patronage
Saint Mark is venerated as the patron of the city of Venice and is invoked as a patron of notaries; his emblem is the winged lion.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Mark?
The feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist is kept on 25 April in both the traditional 1962 calendar and the modern calendar.
Who was Saint Mark?
He was the writer of the second Gospel and, by ancient tradition, the disciple and interpreter of Saint Peter. He is honoured as the founder and first bishop of the Church of Alexandria, where he died a martyr.
What are the Greater Litanies kept on this day?
The Greater Litanies are an ancient procession of penitential prayer and supplication that the Church observes on 25 April, asking God’s mercy and the fruits of the earth. They fall on the same day as Saint Mark’s feast, though they are distinct from it.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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