Mark

Saint Mark was born in Rome, though little is known of his early years; tradition records that his father was named Priscus. He was chosen as Bishop of Rome on January 18, 336, succeeding Pope Sylvester I during the peaceful years that followed Constantine’s legalization of Christianity. Though his pontificate was brief, Mark is remembered for strengthening the Church’s order and worship in the city of the apostles. He is associated with the beginnings of the Church’s early calendars of bishops and martyrs, a quiet but lasting service to Christian memory. He is also credited with confirming the special role of the Bishop of Ostia in consecrating newly elected popes, and with founding the Basilica of San Marco in Rome, along with a cemetery church near the Catacomb of Balbina on land donated by Constantine. Mark died naturally on October 7, 336, and was buried in the Catacomb of Balbina; his relics were later enshrined at San Marco. He is especially venerated at Abbadia San Salvatore. His feast day is October 7.