Saint Marc and Venice

Saint Marc and Venice

Press to read the story

Around two-thousands years ago, in a very stormy night, a little ship sought repair on an island in the lagoon that would later become part of Venice. That ship was coming from Aquileia and was heading towards Alexandria in Egypt. In the crew there were Marc the evangelist and other disciplines of Christ. Some fishermen offered them hospitality and Marc told them about Jesus, the reborn man, the miracles he had done and the salvation message he brought to humankind. The fishermen listened carefully and then everybody went to sleep. Marc fell asleep soon, and had a dream. An angel appeared and told him: “On this land, dear Marc, a beautiful city, which will be a wonder in the world, will be built. In here you will find rest. Peace be with you, Marc”, and left. 

After a few days the disciples left and in some time they landed in Alexandria. Marc preached the gospel in there, but was eventually murdered by some pagans, who even set his body on fire. Some disciples, however, managed to save the dead body and and hide it. 

In the following centuries Venice developed, becoming a strong and free city, which only needed a patron that could protect it. In 829 two Venetian mariners were traveling to Egypt and they happened to find Marc’s body in Alexandria. They took the corpse, hid it in a ship under a lot of pork meat, that could not be touched by the Muslims, and with it they finally reached Venice. A cathedral was built there and dedicated to Marc, in the same place where the evangelist had come centuries before. He was nominated the patron of the city and his remains are still there.

Tags: ship; Saint; Venice; patron.

Question: What did the fishermen do to Marc?

  1. They welcomed him and listened to him
  2. They killed him during the night
  3. They sent him away

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *