Day 20 - Monday, 3rd Week of Lent - San Marco

Because the area is very low, and subject to flooding from the Tiber, it had to be restored several times; the original church was replaced entirely in the 9th century by  Pope Gregory IV, who oriented it to face the Capitoline, just as St. Mark's hovel once faced.

Facade of San Marco

The Portico

Entrance to the Basilica 

 It is thought that it was under these conditions of chaos and tumult, that Mark sat in his little hovel, here at this place, looking up at the Capitoline Hill, where pagan Rome went about its usual business, and wrote his brief Gospel account of the life of Christ.  Written as a typical ancient Roman biography of that time, as were the other Gospels, it focused on the events, not of the entire life, but only on the years of the life of Christ that were essentially the reason for writing the biography in the first place, those three brief years of his ministry, and the events surrounding the end of his earthly life.  Ancient biographers often include a birth or childhood narrative as did Luke and Matthew, and maybe a note on the family or place of origin, but the biography largely existed to tell of the events, and perhaps the wisdom quotes, that made the person notable.  This was true of all ancient biographies, not just those about Jesus.  We actually have more ancient copies of the Gospels, which, after all, are the biographies of Jesus, that any other book from antiquity.  It is rather absurd therefore, when critics claim that we have no proof that Jesus ever lived!

Above: Bell tower of San Marco

Above:  Mark the Evangelist, Listening to the winged lion which is the symbol of St Mark.  

Interior - Basilica San Marco Evangelista at the Capitol 

Interior - San Marco

Altar - San Marco

High Altar 

Apse Mosaic

The apse mosaic, dates to Pope Gregory IV, and shows the pope, with the squared blue halo of a living person, offering a model of the church to the Lord, in the presence of Mark the Evangelist, Pope Saint Mark (in red) and other saints.  Christ stands on a platform that indicates he is the Alpha and Omega, and hold a book that says, "I am the Resurrection."  St Agnes is on our far right. Pope Gregory, on the far left, is being presented by St Mark the Evangelist.

This is one of Rome’s oldest churches, built around the year 336. Known initially as Titulus Marcii, San Marco was one of the original 25 titular churches.

The portico outside the church is made of travertine marble from the Colosseum. On the right-hand wall of the portico is the funerary monument of Vannozza dei Cattanei.  Who was she, you ask?   Well, she was the mistress of the notorious Pope Alexander VI (Borgia).  The monument has been vandalized several times in the past by enemies of the Borgias.

The beautiful reddish-pink columns inside are made of Sicilian jasper. Over our heads is the oldest coffered wooden ceiling in Rome,  made by the same architect who built the Sistine Chapel, Giovannino de Dolci.

The Choir

I have a personal story about this place, that I would like to share with you - this awesome place where St Mark took me in hand and gave me a personal tour of his basilica.  Here I found an unbounded friendship with St Mark.  

Frankly, I had never paid much attention to St Mark as a person.  To me, he was just a minor figure in the New Testament.  I had never felt any particular affinity with St Mark up to the point of my visit to his basilica, but that changed in 2018. I was alone in Rome, having gone early to prepare for the group of pilgrims who would be participating  in the Station Church Pilgrimage that year.  I knew no one in Rome, and I did not speak the language.  

As an unexpected, dark, clinical depression descended on my mind for some unexplained reason, I spent an entire day tramping around the ancient Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill, from dawn to 4:30 PM (when they chased everyone out).  As I limped back home (on feet that would require 3 surgeries in the following year), I passed along the base of the Capitoline Hill, across the street from San Marco.  I thought about going over and at least peeking into the basilica, but I was so exhausted that I decided against it, hoping to return on a future day.  I wanted to be able to get back to the monastery on my own 2 feet.  I knew I would simply feel ridiculous in a foreign land, trying to communicate with others in their broken English and my own almost non-existant Italian that "I had fallen and couldn't get up."

All I could really think about was getting back to the monastery and getting my feet up.  The next thing I remember, was sitting in the back pew of that  stately church, and contemplating the life and death of St Mark, with my new friend, St Mark himself.  Not quite sure how I got there, because about the last thing I remember prior to that was making the decision not to go to San Marco that day.  

Much as if St Mark was showing me his home videos, all the passages in the New Testament regarding Mark began flashing through my mind, as St Mark sat there with me and helped me understand more deeply, the content of his Gospel.  It was the most restful end of a day I had had in a long time, maybe ever.  A little later, as I walked back to my monastery home, my heart was full to overflowing.  Even now, as I write these memories, my eyes are moist.  

I had made a new friend,  and forever after, St Mark will  be precious to me.  His hospitality on that day was truly rejuvenating.  Sometimes, in completely unexpected ways, saints  reach out to us, eager to become part of our own personal cloud of witnesses.  Keep your eyes and ears open, there are many saints who desire your friendship, and in the company of these witnesses we can never be alone, or lonely.

The Organ - Notice the coffered ceiling, and the magnificent marble pillar

Angel