The Feast of St. Mark: The Man Behind the Gospel

The Feast of St. Mark is coming up on April 25th.

As we continue through the season of Easter, the Church gives us days like this, opportunities to pause and remember the lives of those who carried the gospel forward in the earliest days. These feasts help ground us in the history of the Church and remind us that the story we are living in did not begin with us.

Saint Mark was a follower of Jesus and is traditionally remembered as the author of the Gospel of Mark. He was a companion of the apostles Paul and Peter. According to tradition, Mark was born in Jerusalem and was the son of a woman whose home was a gathering place for the early Church, associated with both the Last Supper and Pentecost.

Mark was a disciple of Peter and is said to have accompanied him to Rome, serving as his secretary and writing down his teachings and sermons.

Mark was also the cousin of Barnabas and traveled with Barnabas and Paul on their first missionary journey. At one point, however, Mark left them and returned home, which caused a sharp disagreement with Paul. Later, this relationship was restored, and Mark became a close companion to Paul once again.

St. Mark eventually traveled to Alexandria, where he founded the Church of Alexandria. He became its first bishop and is often considered the father of Christianity in Africa. He was martyred around AD 68.

St. Mark is often depicted writing his Gospel, with a palm branch symbolizing his martyrdom, or alongside a winged lion. The winged lion comes from the vision in Ezekiel 1:10, where it is believed that the four living creatures came to be associated with the four Gospel writers.

Mark is also remembered as the author of the Gospel that bears his name, though according to tradition, he did not write it as an independent account, but as one who carefully recorded what he had received.

A Faithful Witness

According to tradition, Mark was a close companion of the apostle Peter and wrote down Peter’s teachings and recollections of Jesus. In this way, the Gospel of Mark has long been understood as preserving the preaching of Peter, faithfully passed on through Mark.

This also helps explain the character of Mark’s Gospel. It is direct and immediate, moving quickly from one event to the next, as though it is being proclaimed aloud. It reflects the voice of someone sharing what he has seen and heard, and of one who is eager to pass that testimony on to others.

Mark himself seems to have been part of the earliest Christian community in Jerusalem. According to tradition, his family home was a gathering place for believers, associated with both the Last Supper and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. From the beginning, then, he was formed within the life of the Church.

In time, Mark is again spoken of as a trusted companion. His life reflects something we see often in the early Church: growth, reconciliation, and a steady faithfulness over time.

What stands out most about Mark is not prominence, but faithfulness. He received the testimony of the apostles, preserved it, and carried it forward. Because of this, the Church continues to read his Gospel and remember his witness.

Ways to Celebrate the Feast of St. Mark

Read and Reflect

Read Acts 15:37–39 and Colossians 4:10. Notice the difference in how Paul speaks about Mark in each passage. This can be a starting point for conversation about the reconciliation that occurs when we follow Jesus and are submitted to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Prepare a Traditional Dish

Make Risi e Bisi (rice and peas), a traditional Venetian dish associated with the feast. (Recipe shared at the end of the post.)

St. Mark became closely associated with the city of Venice after his relics were brought there in the ninth century, and he came to be honored as its patron saint. Because of this, his feast day became an important civic celebration in the city.

Risi e Bisi, made with fresh spring peas, was traditionally prepared and served to the Doge on this day. The dish reflects both the season in which the feast falls and the life of the city that came to celebrate it.

Mark the Day with Flowers

Put out red roses. If you have children, give each child a red rose. In Venice, St. Mark’s Day is also known as Festa del Bocolo, or the Rosebud Festival.

According to a well-known Venetian legend, a man of humble background fell in love with a noblewoman. In order to win her father’s approval, he went off to war. After being mortally wounded, he picked a rose for her, and a companion returned it to her on his behalf. The rose, stained with his blood, became a symbol of love and sacrifice.

Because of this, it became customary in Venice to give a single rosebud on St. Mark’s Day.

Set a Simple Table

Since palm branches are a symbol of martyrdom, you might decorate your table with palms as a quiet reminder of St. Mark’s witness.

Feast days like this give us a way to enter more deeply into the life of the Church, not only by remembering, but by participating.

They remind us that the faith has been handed down, lived out, and carried forward by real people, in real places, over time.

And they give us simple ways to begin doing the same in our own homes.

the recipe -

Risi e Bisi (Rice and Peas).pdf

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Risi e Bisi (Rice and Peas)

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

8 slices of bacon

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 rounded cup Arborio rice

Salt and pepper

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Romano cheese

Mint or parsley, chopped

Place chicken stock in a small pot and warm over low heat. In a heavy saucepan, add the oil and onion and cook until it begins to soften. Add the bacon and cook for another five minutes or so, until it begins to release its fat. Add garlic. Sauté garlic for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook until all the grains are well coated with fat and begin to look translucent, then turn up the heat a little and add a ladleful of stock. Bring to a bubble. Stir rice occasionally, allowing the rice to get starchy and the stock to cook into the rice. Add more stock when the rice starts to become dry. Continue stirring and ladling broth until the rice is al dente, 22 minutes. Stir in peas and cheese and season with salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with the herbs. Serve immediately.