St. Mark, the Evangelist: A model for us today
St. Mark, the Evangelist, the author of the second Gospel, is commonly identified as “John Mark” in the Acts of the Apostles (12:12, 25; 15:37) Born a Jew, he was baptized and instructed in the faith by St. Peter the Apostle and traveled with him to Rome. He had a close relationship with St. Peter, who referred to him as “my son Mark” (1 Peter 5:13). Mark traveled with his cousin St. Barnabas and with St. Paul on their first missionary journey in Cyprus (Acts 13:5). Mark is also said to have evangelized in Alexandria, Egypt and founded the Church there. Like Luke, Mark was not one of the 12 apostles. Some scholars believe him to be the young man who ran away when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:51-52). He is also considered to be the first bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. According to Eusebius , the Christian historian, Mark died at Alexandria and was martyred for his faith. In the 9th century, Mark’s body was brought to Venice, where he is patron saint of the city. Mar...