About Today
Saturday 25 April 2026
Saint Mark, Evangelist
Feast
The Lord is speaking to us in the gospel: come, let us adore him.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: Red.
St Mark the Evangelist
He was a cousin of Barnabas and accompanied the apostle Paul on his first missionary journey; later he followed him to Rome. He was a disciple of Peter, and his gospel is told from Peter’s point of view. He is credited with founding the Church in Alexandria. His body was stolen from Alexandria in 828 (though some say that the wrong bones were stolen) and taken to Venice, which adopted him as its patron saint. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.
Other saints: ANZAC Day
Australia, New Zealand
Every year on the 25th of April, Turks, Australians, and New Zealanders gather for a special dawn service at Gallipoli to commemorate the battle there.
A speech by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1934:
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives: you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
A speech by Richard Casey, Baron Casey, governor-general of Australia, in 1967:
“We left the Gallipoli Peninsula fighting against the Turks and losing thousands of people but with a great admiration and appreciation for the Turkish nation and its unmatched love for its country. All Australians love Mehmetcik as if they are their own sons. Their bravery, love for its country and people, their irresistible majesty and courage in the trenches, and their love for their country is admired by all Anzacs and those are traits which should be taken as an example by all humanity. With gratitude and respect to Mehmetçik.”
Saint Mark, Evangelist
Today's gospel reading: Mark 16:15-20
At that time: Jesus appeared to the Eleven and he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Reflection on the Church Interior
Today we celebrate Mark the Evangelist, a figure who stands at the very beginning of how the story of Christ was first written down. Mark was not one of the Twelve, but he was very much at the heart of the early Church. He is believed to have been close with Peter the Apostle, and many believe his Gospel carries Peter’s voice, his memories, his urgency, his vivid recollections of Jesus’ life. Before Mark, the story of Christ lived primarily through oral tradition: the stories about Jesus were spoken, remembered, passed from person to person, from generation to generation. But by the late 60s AD, as the first generation of witnesses began to pass away quickly, there was a growing sense: all this must be written down.
And so Mark writes. His Gospel is the first and the shortest, the most immediate, the most breathless. There is a sense of urgency throughout: events move quickly, one after another, as if he cannot write fast enough. “Immediately… immediately…” the narrative presses forward. It is not polished or embellished. It feels close to the ground, close to lived experience. Later, the evangelists Matthew and Luke would take Mark’s account and expand it, adding detail, structure, and even more teachings. But Mark gives us something uniquely precious: the first written attempt to capture the life of Christ.
Mark’s legacy found a beautiful home in St Mark’s Basilica, perhaps the most famous church dedicated to him in the world. According to tradition, his relics were brought to Venice in the 9th century, and a great basilica was built to house them. Two basilicas rose and were destroyed before the current third building was started construction in 1063 under the patronage of the Venetian state. By building a magnificent basilica, the rulers of Venice continued to place the town under the protection of the evangelist. The building itself is extraordinary, Byzantine in inspiration, crowned with domes, shimmering with light, modelled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
Many of the columns, reliefs, and sculptures that are still part of the church today were spoils stripped from the churches, palaces, and public monuments of Constantinople as a result of the Venetian participation in the Fourth Crusade. Among the plundered artefacts brought back to Venice were the four ancient bronze horses that were placed prominently over the entry. They originally belonged to the Hippodrome of Constantinople, famous for its four-horse chariot races used in Roman games. Remember, the Eastern Roman Empire only came to an end in 1453, when the city of Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II.
But step inside San Marco, and you are surrounded by gold. The basilica is covered in vast mosaics (over 8,000 square metres) telling the story of salvation in glass tesserae. Scenes from the Old and New Testaments unfold across ceilings and walls, culminating in the life of Christ. And there, woven into this great visual Gospel, is Mark himself, the one who first put pen to parchment.
Interior view of the Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark, commonly known as St Mark's Basilica, Venice,
modelled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople,
mosaics dating from 1070 onwards
© Alamy
Saint Mark, Evangelist
Feast
The Lord is speaking to us in the gospel: come, let us adore him.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: Red.
St Mark the Evangelist
He was a cousin of Barnabas and accompanied the apostle Paul on his first missionary journey; later he followed him to Rome. He was a disciple of Peter, and his gospel is told from Peter’s point of view. He is credited with founding the Church in Alexandria. His body was stolen from Alexandria in 828 (though some say that the wrong bones were stolen) and taken to Venice, which adopted him as its patron saint. See the article in the Catholic Encyclopaedia.
Other saints: ANZAC Day
Australia, New Zealand
Every year on the 25th of April, Turks, Australians, and New Zealanders gather for a special dawn service at Gallipoli to commemorate the battle there.
A speech by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1934:
“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives: you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
A speech by Richard Casey, Baron Casey, governor-general of Australia, in 1967:
“We left the Gallipoli Peninsula fighting against the Turks and losing thousands of people but with a great admiration and appreciation for the Turkish nation and its unmatched love for its country. All Australians love Mehmetcik as if they are their own sons. Their bravery, love for its country and people, their irresistible majesty and courage in the trenches, and their love for their country is admired by all Anzacs and those are traits which should be taken as an example by all humanity. With gratitude and respect to Mehmetçik.”
Saint Mark, Evangelist
Today's gospel reading: Mark 16:15-20
At that time: Jesus appeared to the Eleven and he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.’
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Reflection on the Church Interior
Today we celebrate Mark the Evangelist, a figure who stands at the very beginning of how the story of Christ was first written down. Mark was not one of the Twelve, but he was very much at the heart of the early Church. He is believed to have been close with Peter the Apostle, and many believe his Gospel carries Peter’s voice, his memories, his urgency, his vivid recollections of Jesus’ life. Before Mark, the story of Christ lived primarily through oral tradition: the stories about Jesus were spoken, remembered, passed from person to person, from generation to generation. But by the late 60s AD, as the first generation of witnesses began to pass away quickly, there was a growing sense: all this must be written down.
And so Mark writes. His Gospel is the first and the shortest, the most immediate, the most breathless. There is a sense of urgency throughout: events move quickly, one after another, as if he cannot write fast enough. “Immediately… immediately…” the narrative presses forward. It is not polished or embellished. It feels close to the ground, close to lived experience. Later, the evangelists Matthew and Luke would take Mark’s account and expand it, adding detail, structure, and even more teachings. But Mark gives us something uniquely precious: the first written attempt to capture the life of Christ.
Mark’s legacy found a beautiful home in St Mark’s Basilica, perhaps the most famous church dedicated to him in the world. According to tradition, his relics were brought to Venice in the 9th century, and a great basilica was built to house them. Two basilicas rose and were destroyed before the current third building was started construction in 1063 under the patronage of the Venetian state. By building a magnificent basilica, the rulers of Venice continued to place the town under the protection of the evangelist. The building itself is extraordinary, Byzantine in inspiration, crowned with domes, shimmering with light, modelled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople.
Many of the columns, reliefs, and sculptures that are still part of the church today were spoils stripped from the churches, palaces, and public monuments of Constantinople as a result of the Venetian participation in the Fourth Crusade. Among the plundered artefacts brought back to Venice were the four ancient bronze horses that were placed prominently over the entry. They originally belonged to the Hippodrome of Constantinople, famous for its four-horse chariot races used in Roman games. Remember, the Eastern Roman Empire only came to an end in 1453, when the city of Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II.
But step inside San Marco, and you are surrounded by gold. The basilica is covered in vast mosaics (over 8,000 square metres) telling the story of salvation in glass tesserae. Scenes from the Old and New Testaments unfold across ceilings and walls, culminating in the life of Christ. And there, woven into this great visual Gospel, is Mark himself, the one who first put pen to parchment.
Interior view of the Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark, commonly known as St Mark's Basilica, Venice,
modelled after the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople,
mosaics dating from 1070 onwards
© Alamy