St. Mark

St. Mark the Evangelist, traditionally identified with the John Mark of the Acts of the Apostles, was a companion of the earliest apostles; his mother's house in Jerusalem served as a gathering place for the first Christians. He traveled for a time with Paul and Barnabas on their missionary work and later became a close associate of St. Peter, who affectionately calls him "my son Mark."

Christian tradition holds that his Gospel, the second and the shortest, sets down the preaching of St. Peter, presenting Christ in swift, vivid scenes as the suffering Son of God who calls His followers to take up the cross. He is honored as the founder and first bishop of the Church of Alexandria, where tradition says he was martyred, and his relics were later carried to Venice, of which he is the patron, his symbol the winged lion. He is celebrated on 25 April.