His home was often the gathering place for the Apostles and, among the four Gospels, Mark’s is the oldest and most concise. 

But because he was not one of the original twelve, we cannot be sure he actually met Jesus. 

The hard work of evangelization could sometimes cause friction among Jesus’ first servants, and this was the case with Paul and Mark. 

When Paul and his cousin Barnabas joined on their first missionary trip to Antioch, Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. It may be that he simply missed his home. 

Frustrated, Paul refused to allow Mark to go on their second missionary trip to The Churches of Celicia and Asia Minor and questioned Mark’s ability as a missionary. 

Whatever hard feelings may have existed, they didn’t last long because, when Paul is in prison, he asks Mark to come and visit him and, when Paul escapes from prison, it is Mark’s house that he goes to. 

Mark seems to have been closer to Peter, who in a letter to Asia Minor refers to him as his son. 

He is considered to be the first Bishop of Alexandria, where he had great success in growing the Christian community, but it was there that he died a martyr after being beaten and dragged through the streets. 

He is the Patron Saint of Alexandria and Venice. 

St. Mark, please pray for us.