St. Mark Church unveils street murals in new arts and media focus

The completion of a vibrant, multi-sided mural that tells the history of St. Mark Church in Venice is the latest project aimed at augmenting an arts-and-media evangelization movement at the parish.

Father Albert van der Woerd, St. Mark’s pastor, explained in a bulletin posting that the parish hall mural created by artist Presa Hall, passed by more than 100,000 people each day on the corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Garfield Avenue, purposefully portrays a sixth-century Greek mosaic of St. Mark on the most visible east side of the building.

“A lot of history is involved in the choice of the name Saint Mark for our parish,” wrote van der Woerd, referring to the church established in 1923 to help fleeing immigrants escaping persecution in Mexico. “Think of Abbott Kinney, who wanted to create a little Venice for his wife in the swamp on the Westside. With the Saint Mark Basilica in Venice, Italy, holding the relics of this evangelist, what other name could have been chosen than Saint Mark?”

On the hall’s south side are mural depictions of Blessed Miguel Pro, Blessed Sister Marie Rose Durocher (founder of the Sisters of the Holy Names, which started the school), and St. Candidus of Thebes. All three are also represented by relics on St. Mark’s altar.

St. Mark’s concerted effort to focus on the pastoral impact of arts and media is reflected in the demographics of its congregation, van der Woerd said. The church’s recent surveys show some 60% of the adults work in the media.

Inside the parish hall, upgrades that included 4K monitor screens for upgraded media use are part of the initiative.

“It’s the calling card to the community, attractive to Catholics and non-Catholics,” said Deacon Charlie Echeverry, who came to St. Mark’s two years ago as a reassignment, having a secular background in media and entertainment at Disney and Univision.

“The parish hall is a visualization of things the Lord has put together for us,” Echeverry said. “We have a hall on the biggest thoroughfare on the Westside and it is an asset. Instead of just painting the building, we want to create a landmark for the community that is rich in mural storytelling.”

Tom Hoffarth is an award-winning journalist based in Los Angeles.