Saint Mark: Tradition and John Mark Trusted Again

A young man named John, who was also called Mark, once left Paul and Barnabas in the middle of a missionary journey. The Church honors Saint Mark the Evangelist, who according to tradition was a disciple and interpreter of Peter and a preacher of the Gospel in the Veneto region. Whether this John Mark is the same person as the Evangelist, the sources for this story do not say, so the journeys of the two are told with care.

Leaving the First Journey

The journey began with the Church of Antioch. According to Pope Benedict XVI, the community there sent Barnabas with Paul on a mission to proclaim the Gospel, which became known as Paul's first missionary journey. John Mark went with them, but later left the group. The reason is not given, and how he felt at the time is not recorded either.

The Disagreement over John Mark

That event had lasting consequences. When the second missionary journey was about to begin, Barnabas wanted to take John called Mark along as a traveling companion. Paul refused, because the young man had once deserted them. The two preachers of the Gospel, who until then had worked together, fell into disagreement. In the end Barnabas returned to Cyprus with John Mark, in about the year 49 by the Pope's estimate. Barnabas's wish to keep Mark with him was fulfilled.

Reconciled with Paul

The disagreement was not the end of the story. Paul, who had at first been somewhat harsh and bitter toward Mark, in the end found himself with him once again. How this restoration came about is not told, but the result is recorded. In Paul's last letters, the Letter to Philemon and the Second Letter to Timothy, Mark is named as one of his fellow workers. The man Paul had once turned down was now trusted to work alongside him, after the disagreement at the start of the second missionary journey.

Reflecting on the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over Mark, Pope Benedict XVI drew a lesson about the saints. In his view, even saints can disagree and quarrel. For the Pope, this is a comfort, because it shows that the saints are real human beings. Holiness does not mean never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion and for starting again, and above all for reconciliation and forgiveness. This lesson is the Pope's interpretation, not an additional historical record.

The Tradition of Mark the Evangelist

Beyond the story of the journeys with Paul, the Church remembers Saint Mark the Evangelist through another tradition. St. Mark's Basilica in Venice hands on a very ancient tradition that the Evangelist was a disciple and interpreter of Peter, as well as a preacher of the Gospel in the Veneto region, even before the city of Venice was founded. The basilica's account does not mention Paul or the name John. The same basilica explains that the see of the Bishop of Venice is regarded as being of apostolic foundation, so its bishop bears the title of Patriarch.