St. Mark Reliquary
March 2021 - August 2021
This large cherry reliquary was designed for a first-class relic of St. Mark and features traditional Marcan symbology, including Venetian lions, Petrine keys, and the inscription “Pax tibi Marce evangelista meus.”
Lions have been a symbol of St. Mark for centuries. According to legend, Mark was visited by an angel in the form of a winged lion, who told him, “Pax tibi Marce evangelista meus, hic requiescet corpus tuum.” Translated, “Peace to you Mark, my evangelist; here will your body lie.” Though Mark died in Alexandria, in the 800s his remains were retrieved and have stayed in Venice ever since. Devotion to St. Mark grew such that the city itself came to be associated with the lions as well.
Just beneath the relic itself are the Petrine keys, the “keys to the kingdom” (Mt 16:19). Mark, who was not an apostle of Jesus, is said to have written from Peter’s testimony.