Who is Mark? In Col. 4:10 Paul presents him as Barnabas' cousin. In Acts 15:40 he accompanies Barnabas on a trip to Cyprus. Can we trace his origin? With a certain amount of probability: When Peter was miraculously released from jail, "he went to the house of Mary, mother of John Mark" (Acts 12:12). That house was spacious enough to shelter some 120 persons! And in identifing it with that of the Last Supper (Mk 14:12-15), with "the upper room where they were staying" where the disciples took shelter "for fear of the Jews" (Jn 20:19), we see the Church in formation! Neither the panic of Friday night nor the euphoria of the Resurrection could keep them from moving from that house. From this perspective we can see Mark as an educated Jew from a well-to-do family of Jerusalem who believed in Jesus and put all its goods at the disposal of the Church. As for Mark himself, tradition identifies him as Peter's secretary and interpreter.