HISTORY
SAINT MARK'S - Come hear our Three-Century Shop Bell (1851, 1902, 2006). Our Bell has a long history in the City of Altoona. Memorial plaques have been placed. They are accessible and located in the Bell Tower area.
Two prayer benches have been added.
We want it to ring for freedom and moments of reflection on Altoona's great railroad past and for all the dedicated railroad workers. Children and grandchildren of those workers will hear the same bell their parents and grandparents heard. We wanted to share the Bell with our community. We wanted to erect and maintain it for generations to follow. The Bell is located in an area easily accessible by all and open free of charge to the public.
History of the Bell: The 750-pound bell, cast at Meneely's Foundry in West Troy, NY in 1850, was first hung in the original erecting shop of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Altoona in 1851. It is of Doric design and is 22 inches high, 32 1/2 inches across the mouth and 15 inches across the crown. It was used by the P.R.R. to summon its workmen to the shops in the early morning. The bell rang at 5:30 am and again at 5:45 pm and the workmen were supposed to be in the shops at 6 am and leave at 6 pm. With the advent of the steam siren in 1895, the bell was placed in storage in the Altoona machine shops. In 1902, the residents of the Eighth Ward decided to purchase a community clock and place it in the newly erected tower of St. Mark's Church at Sixth Avenue and Fourth Street. The bell was purchased by the residents to toll the hours. It rang for patriotic celebrations, it rang for funerals, and it rang for joyful occasions. It remained there until 1950 when deteriorating conditions of the tower necessitated its removal. The tower was dismantled and the Bell was placed in the basement of the old rectory. When the rectory was torn down, it was placed in the garage. Father James B. Coveney discovered the Bell in 2001, and he and the parishioners of Saint Mark's started a fundraising campaign to build a Bell Tower and set a goal of having the Bell ring again. On November 16, 2006, many parishioners and neighbors were there to watch the Bell being installed in the Bell Tower.
The Dedication and Blessing were December 2, 2006.
"A BELL ISN'T A BELL UNTIL IT RINGS"
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SISTER ELAINE – Our beloved Sister Mary Elaine Peters passed away Thursday, April 29, 2021 at the Mercy Center in Dallas, PA where she had been living for the past eight years. Sister Elaine came to Saint Mark’s in November of 2002 and stayed until the end of March 2013. That was a long time and we got attached to her. God put her into our lives for a purpose. She helped with so many things at Saint Mark’s and we depended on her. She had a great sense of humor and brought smiles wherever she went. She was a Godsend to the residents of Valley View (now Maybrook) and Garvey Manor. She was loved and respected and was truly missed when she left. Now we can pray to her in heaven.
May Sister Elaine Rest in the Peace of God!
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STAINED GLASS WINDOWS AT SAINT MARK’S
Week #4, Window #4 (4th from the front on left):
Saint Mark and Saint Barnabas were relatives, possibly cousins, who made several missionary journeys together. Barnabas was an early prominent Christian disciple in Jerusalem, first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as one who sold some land he owned and gave the proceeds to the Apostles. He introduced St. Paul to the Apostles, accompanied Paul on some of his missionary journeys, and is also mentioned in some of Paul’s Epistles. According to tradition, Barnabas was martyred by being tortured and stoned to death around 61 A.D. This window depicts Mark and Barnabas departing on a missionary journey to Cyprus where they preached all over the island, using the Gospel of St. Matthew, the first Gospel written. St. Mark is shown traveling lightly, carrying only a purple traveling bag and a walking stick or staff, shown again at the bottom in the middle windowpane. The fire in the lower left windowpane might serve as a reminder that these missionaries are led by the Holy Spirit (often symbolized by fire) as they go forth to spread the fire of God’s love by preaching the “good news” of Jesus Christ.
The symbol of the lion is frequently used to represent St. Mark the Evangelist, probably because St. Mark begins his Gospel with scenes of St. John the Baptist and Jesus in the wilderness. It is interesting to note that, at the time the Gospels were written, lions still inhabited caves within Palestine. Often the lion symbolizing St. Mark is a winged lion as in this image, wings being a symbol of divine mission.
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Week #5, Window #5 (5th from the front on left):
In this window Saint Paul is shown under house arrest in chains, in Rome with a soldier guarding him. This event occurred during St. Paul’s second Roman captivity shortly before his martyrdom in 63 A.D. Sacred Scripture relates to St. Mark was with St. Paul to help and comfort him. (1 Colossians 4: 10-11) St. Paul near the end of his Epistle to the Ephesians, describes himself as an “ambassador in chains” as he boldly makes known the mystery of the Gospel. The bottom left windowpane depicts a griffin, a mythological creature which possesses the parts of great predator animals, such as a lion and an eagle. For this reason, it is a perfect symbol of Satan, the great predator of the Christian. The middle pane illustrates the Bible with the Latin words “Spiritus Gladius”, translated “Sword of the Spirit”, imposed on a double-edged sword. This symbol is reference to St. Paul’s admonition in his Epistle to the Ephesians, written during his imprisonment. He tells them and us to “put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil… In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of the God” (Ephesians 6” 10-17) The bottom right pane shows the shield of faith mentioned above; the three circles on the shield possibly represent the Holy Trinity, the central mystery of our faith.
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Check out our Facebook page and see the new addition put there describing the stained-glass windows in Saint Mark’s Church.
Week #6, Window #6 (1st window on the right-hand side of the church):
This window presents St. Mark with parchment and a feather pen in hand, writing his Gospel as
St. Peter dictates to him. Christ, crowned in glory, with the wounds of his hands and feet, appears above them, holding the world in His hands, with angels at his side. (Note the winged lion on the side of St. Mark’s writing desk signifying his divine mission in writing the Gospel, as well as the scroll proclaiming “Pax Tibi” or “Peace to Y ou”.)
The Gospel of St. Mark (the second Gospel) written in Rome before 60 A.D. is a record of the life of Jesus through the eyes of St. Peter, the Prince of the Apostles (shown again with the keys to the kingdom hanging from his waist). For this reason, St. Peter plays a prominent role in St. Mark’s Gospel whose purpose is to prove to the Romans (and us) that Jesus is the Savior and that He is divine. Thus, a high point in Mark’s Gospel occurs when the Roman centurion proclaims, following the death of Jesus, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
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Check out our Facebook page and see the new addition put there describing the stained-glass windows in Saint Mark’s Church.
Week #9, Window #9 (4th window on the right-hand side of the church):
In this window, Saint Mark is shown reminiscing about the events in the life of Christ as seen through the eyes of Saint Peter. In the upper left, the table at which Jesus ate His Last Supper with the Apostles is pictured. On the table is the chalice reminding us of the Blood of Christ which was poured out at Calvary. The arrest of Jesus is illustrated beside the table. On the right is depicted one of the miracles of Jesus, probably the cure of the blind man near Bethsaida which is described only in Mark’s Gospel. To the right of Saint Mark is shown the fig tree with leaves, but no fruit, an allusion to the story where Jesus cursed the fig tree, causing it to wither. To his left is seen the Gospel of Mark in the paws of the winged lion, mentioned previously as the symbol of the evangelist Mark. This points to the fact that, in his Gospel, Mark dwells most fully on the Resurrection of Christ and proclaims with great emphasis the royal dignity of Christ. (Recall that lions are known as “the king of beasts” and wings are a symbol of divine mission). Because it was once believed that young lions were born dead but came to life three days later when breathed upon by the father, the lion has become associated with the Resurrection and is thus a symbol for Christ, the Lord of life! On the bottom left, the empty tomb is surrounded by a sunburst symbolizing that Christ, who died on the cross has risen from the dead. In the middle pane, behind the cross, the books of the four Gospels, which tell the story of Christ, are presented. To the right, the open book of the Gospel of Mark, originally written in Greek, is shown accompanied by a quill pen and inkhorn.
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Check out our Facebook page and see the new addition put there describing the stained-glass windows in Saint Mark’s Church.
Week #10, Window #10 (5th window on the right-hand side of the church):
This window shows St. Mark, the Patron Saint of Venice, Italy, seated on his throne with one hand raised in blessing and the other hand holding his Gospel opened to the Latin greeting “Pax Tibi”, translated “Peace to you”, which is a common greeting used by Jesus with His disciples. To his right stands a pedestal holding a small replica of the winged lion which also happens to be the emblem of Venice. To the top left of St. Mark is a copy of the coat of arms of Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958-1963, around the time these windows were installed, and the church was remodeled according to the reforms of Vatican II. (Prior to being elected Pope, he was the Cardinal Patriarch of Venice.)
The components which make up this coat of arms from top to bottom are as follows:
The Papal tiara (triple crown) represents the Pope’s three functions as supreme pastor, teacher and priest; the keys, a part of every Pope’s coat of arms, represent the Pope’s dual authority of binding and loosing; the winged lion holding St. Mark’s Gospel opened to the words “Pax Tibi, Marce, Evangelista Meus”; the Fleur De Lys can refer to Mary and also the Trinity because of its three parts forming one figure; the Tower of St. John is located in the Vatican Gardens, a place of quiet meditation and reflection for the Popes. Pope John XXIII chose this tower to be his hermitage; his coat of arms adorns the main door. Below this seal, a gondola floats in one of the canals of Venice.
The bottom left pane pictures a ship symbolizing Mark’s missionary journeys or the Church. The banner in the middle pane contains the Latin greeting mentioned above “Pax Tibi, Marce, evangelist meus”, translated as “Peace to you Mark my Evangelist”. This greeting has its origin in the legend that, on the night before his martyrdom, while St. Mark was in prison, an angel appeared to him, strengthening him with the assurance that “Your name has been written in the book of life”. After the angel departed, as Mark thanked God for sending the angel, Jesus himself appeared to him with the greeting, “Peace be to you, Mark, my disciple and evangelist”. St. Mark started to shout, “Oh my Lord Jesus”, but the vision disappeared. On the right pane is pictured a golden reliquary containing, it is said, a fragment of the original Gospel in the handwriting of St. Mark. Around 815 A.D. Venetian merchants trading to Alexandria, Egypt, carried off (stole) the relics of St. Mark which they deposited in the city of Venice where the stately Basilica Church of St. Mark was built over them. Since then Saint Mark has been honored as the patron saint of Venice.
COME VISIT SAINT MARK'S AND SEE THE WINDOWS AND JOIN US FOR MASS.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOU COME TO PRAY AND SING WITH US.