| Saint Mark —
Patron Saint of Notaries "The second Gospel
was written by St. Mark, who in the New Testament is sometimes called John Mark.
Both he and his mother Mary were highly esteemed in the early Church, and his
mother's house in Jerusalem served as a meeting place for Christians there. St.
Mark was associated with St. Paul and St. Barnabas (who was Mark's cousin) on
their missionary journey through the island of Cyprus. Later he accompanied St.
Barnabas alone. We know also that he was in Rome with St. Peter and St. Paul.
Tradition ascribes to him the founding of the Church in Alexandria. St. Mark wrote
the second Gospel, probably in Rome sometime before the year 60 A.D.; he wrote
it in Greek for the Gentile converts to Christianity. Tradition tells us that
St. Mark was requested by the Romans to set down the teachings of St. Peter. This
seems to be confirmed by the position which St. Peter has in this Gospel, as the
second Gospel is a record of the life of Jesus as seen through Peter's eyes. Prayer
to St. Mark
"Almighty God, who by the hand of Mark the evangelist
have given to your Church the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God: We thank
you for this witness, and pray that we may be firmly grounded in its truth; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen." | 
12mm
diameter 
