ST MARK, POPE - 7 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER 

Saints celebrated on the 7th of October

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST MARK, POPE 

⬅️ Saintly Popes - Index

Saint Mark sat on the chair of St Peter as the successor of St Sylvester. He was pope from January 18 to October 7, 336.

HE IS CREDITED WITH BUILDING AND ENDOWING TWO CHURCHES

There is no reliable information about his life and work. He is credited with building and endowing two churches: the first on the Ardeatic road, the second not far from the Capitol. 

ST DAMASUS HONOURED HIS MENORY

St Damasus honoured his memory, praising his sacrifice and devotion, naming him in the same breath with St Mark the Evangelist: "He was a companion of his namesake in name, life, faith and merit." 

HIS RELICS

He was interred in the Coemeterium of St Balbina. A church dedicated to him rose on his tomb. From there his relics are said to have been transferred to the church ad Palatinas during St Gregory VII's time. This church was also dedicated to him. Incidentally, other churches also have portions of his relics, especially the main church of Florence and St Paul in Rome. On  portraits he carries a closed book. The Epistle to St Athanasius, ascribed by some to Pope Mark, is most probably not genuine.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)