Above is a reliquary showing a bone fragment (ex ossibus) of Saint Mark the Apostle and Evangelist, the Libyan Jew who fled naked in terror when Jesus Christ was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane (Mk 14:51). He later died as a martyr in Alexandria, Egypt. It was in Mark’s house that Christ observed the Passover with His disciples and where the latter hid after the Crucifixion, before the Resurrection. You can read more about Mark here.
The bone fragment shown above constitutes a first class relic. Official documentation certifying the genuineness of Mark’s relic, the sealing of the reliquary and allowing for its public veneration, comes from Youssef Ibrahim Sarraf, the second Bishop (now deceased) of the Catholic Eparchy of Cairo, Egypt (Chaldean Rite).
This precious relic of Saint Mark is going to be available for public veneration after the 8.30am Mass on the Evangelist’s feast day, Saturday, April 25, 2015 at Santa Venera Roman Catholic Parish Church, Saint Joseph High Road, Santa Venera, Malta (EU).
