About St. Mark
Much of what we know about St. Mark, the author of the Second Gospel, comes from the New Testament and early Christian traditions. The identical ‘John Mark’ recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, the New Testament’s chronicle of the early Church, is assumed to be Mark the Evangelist.
He was the son of Mary of Jerusalem, whose home the apostles used as a meeting place. He is also a Levite and a Cypriot, as well as a relative of St. Barnabas. After being released from prison, Saint Peter went to Mark’s mother’s house.
The initial missionary journey was accompanied by Paul and Barnabas, but Mark returned to Jerusalem alone for unspecified reasons. Despite Barnabas’ pleas, Paul declined to allow Mark to accompany him on the second journey, implying that Mark had disappointed him.
Mark was not one of the original 12 Apostles, but he is regarded as one of the 70 Disciples sent forth by Jesus to spread the good news of the Kingdom, according to Luke 10. So, while he was not a part of Jesus’ inner circle, he was a member of the next larger circle.
Some believe he is the unidentified young man who joined Jesus after his arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, a figure mentioned exclusively in Mark’s Gospel. His symbol is the winged lion that stands atop a column at the port side entrance to Piazza San Marco.
John Mark accompanied Barnabus and Paul on a missionary journey that began in Cyprus and ended in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Following the Jerusalem Council, he traveled to Cyprus with Barnabus but without Paul.
In AD 42, Mark met Peter and accompanied him as his translator. During this time, Mark, who became the first Gospel book, reported Peter’s teachings and personal stories of Jesus.
According to some sources, Mark arrived in Alexandria in AD 49 and founded the church. The Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholic Churches, as well as the Greek Orthodox Church in Alexandria, all trace their origins to that church.
Facts about St. Mark
Novena Starts: April 17th
Feast Day: April 25th
Birth: 5 A.D.
Death: 25 April 68 A.D.
Significance of Novena to St. Mark
The Feast of Saint Mark the Evangelist is honored on April 25th. Despite the fact that he was not a direct disciple of Jesus, Saint Mark wrote one of the four Gospel tales and acted as a missionary in the early church. Throughout the Basilica, Mark is depicted in a variety of spectacular domes and chapels.
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Novena to St. Mark
Day 1
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Day 2
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
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Day 3
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Day 4
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Day 5
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
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Day 6
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Day 7
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Day 8
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
Day 9
Let us begin, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
O glorious St. Mark,
through the grace of God our Father,
you became a great Evangelist,
preaching the Good News of Christ.
May you help us to know Him well
so that we may faithfully live our lives
as followers of Christ.
Obtain for me I pray you,
lively faith, firm hope and burning love;
patience in adversity, humility in prosperity,
recollection in prayer, purity of heart,
a right intention in all my works,
diligence in fulfilling the duties of my state of life,
constancy in my resolutions,
resignation to the will of God
and perseverance in the grace of God even unto death,
and, by your intercession and your glorious merits
I entrust to you this special favour I now ask…
<<mention your special request>>
I ask this through Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with God the Father
and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Recite once
Our Father
Hail Mary
Glory Be
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Prayer to St. Mark
O God, who raised up Saint Mark, your Evangelist,
and endowed him with the grace to preach the Gospel,
grant, we pray, that we may so profit from his teaching
as to follow faithfully in the footsteps of Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
