25th April: Feast Day of St. Mark

Today is the feast day of gospel author St. Mark. Here are some facts about him:

1. Mark wrote the second gospel, which is the oldest and shortest.
2. In art, he is usually pictured writing his gospel.
3. He wasn't one of the twelve apostles, but was an early missionary, travelling with Paul and Barnabas. He went with them on the first ever missionary journey, but for reasons unknown, turned back. We don't know why, but Paul refused to let him travel with them again. However, when Paul wrote to Timothy from prison, he asked for Mark's help, so Mark must have redeemed himself with Paul in the end.
4. Saint Mark was born in Cyrene, a city in the Pentapolis of North Africa (now Libya).
5. His symbol is the winged Lion. Christian legends refer to Saint Mark as "Saint Mark The Lionhearted", because he was thrown to the lions and they refused to eat him.
6. He is patron of Barristers, Venice and Egypt.
7. Mark is said to have founded the Church of Alexandria. The Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria claim to have grown from this original community.
8. He died on a visit to Alexandria, when the pagans of the city resented his efforts to stop them from worshiping their traditional gods. They put a rope around his neck and dragged him through the streets until he was dead.
9. In 828, relics believed to be the body of Saint Mark were stolen from Alexandria by two Venetian merchants with the help of two Greek monks and taken to Venice. According to a mosaic in St Mark's Basilica, sailors covered the relics with pork and Cabbage leaves. Muslims are not permitted to touch pork, so this stopped the guards from inspecting the ship's cargo too closely.
10. In 1063, during the construction of a new basilica dedicated to the saint in Venice, Saint Mark's relics could not be found. Legend has it that Saint Mark himself intervened and extended a ghostly arm from a pillar in order to point out where his relics were.