In common with most of the Apostles, almost nothing is known about St Mark apart from what is written in the Gospels. It's not even clear how many Marks there were. It is said that Mark the Evangelist initially lost his faith when Jesus explained the mystery of transubstantiation, before being brought back to the fold by St Peter. He accompanied Peter to Rome, where he served as the great man's secretary, in doing so writing down the sermons that would become the Gospel of Mark. Peter then sent him to convert Egypt, where he founded the Church of Alexandria and eventually met his death at the hands of its people.
Eight centuries later, Mark supplanted Theodore of Amasea as patron saint of Venice, after a bizarre episode in which his bones were stolen from Alexandria and smuggled aboard a ship. There, they were stowed under layers of pork, to prevent local Muslims interfering. The saint's influence guided the sailors safely home in the teeth of a terrible tempest, and his relics were placed in a basilica.
