The formation of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish began in the spring of 1976 when Father Thomas Murphy accepted the responsibility of serving as the first pastor of the newly planned parish. Father Murphy was ordained in Ireland in 1966 and had previously served as the Assistant Pastor of St. Thomas More in San Antonio.

In June of 1976, Father Murphy wrote a letter to the 325 families living within the boundaries of the new parish, requesting their help in selecting a name for their new church. St. Mark the Evangelist was chosen from the many suggested names.

Archbishop Francis Furey formally established the parish as the 160th parish in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. St. Mark leased space from the North East Independent School District and the first Mass was celebrated in the Blossom Athletic Center on September 24, 1976.

Almost immediately, plans were initiated to construct a permanent church. The early community participated in selecting the present design for the church and administrative complex. Groundbreaking was held in February 1979 with over 600 families registered in the parish. When the church building was dedicated the following December, over 800 parishioners, priests and Protestant clergy were in attendance. The church building was designed and built to reflect the first community. The homelike atmosphere made of natural materials emphasized simplicity and serviceability.

Over the next nine years, Father Murphy served the community of St. Mark with Theresa Berg as the Pastoral Director. This model of collaborative ministry was one of the first in the Archdiocese of San Antonio. During this time, the parish grew in spirit, physical size and population.

In 1981, a Multi-purpose Field house and Garage with baseball and soccer fields were completed. Much of the community activity of St. Mark now takes place in the multi-functional Community Center built adjacent to the church. The dedication of the Community Center was held on June 30, 1985. After serving for 12 years at St. Mark and the celebration of his 25th anniversary as a priest, Father Murphy was reassigned as pastor of St. Peter Prince of the Apostles.

In 1988, Father Sean Garrett was assigned as the new pastor of St. Mark. Father Sean came from St. Helena Church where he built the first church and was pastor of the first community in that area. Father Sean was a native of the city of Cork, Ireland. "Sean", as he liked to be called, celebrated his 25th Anniversary at St. Mark also. He was devoted and dedicated to Liturgy. During his tenure at St. Mark, Father Sean hired Fay Jackson to serve as Pastoral Director. In November of 1991, Father Sean Garrett transferred to serve in the Diocese of Tallahassee.

Father Kevin Ryan, then became the third pastor of St. Mark. He was ordained in Ireland in 1970. His hometown is Mullingar. He had served the previous 10 years as pastor of St. Rose of Lima. Father Ryan was the founding pastor of St. Rose in 1981 where he built a community and church. Father Kevin brought with him a vision of parish, which closely resembled the collaborative style of ministry that had begun in 1976. By appointing a Pastoral Administrator, Dot Hamlin, Father Ryan established his vision of collaboration. A strong ministerial team is now serving the parish. This team represents the sharing of gifts of the laity and the clergy, side by side.

The community grew from approximately 2600 families to over 5000 families. It was during this time that the dream of the Building Committee, which had been meeting since 1991, fulfilled their dream to build a new sanctuary. It was 7 years in the planning and development to the completion in January of 2000. The sanctuary seats 1500 parishioners and guests. Take a Tour of our church.

In order for the new sanctuary to be built, a new site of 18 acres was found on Bulverde Road so that the ball fields could be moved. Over the next few years, with the hands of many parishioners, St. Mark families built a beautiful concession stand, bleachers, and timekeeper's booths. Many families have spent time supporting the upkeep of the fields where the Athletic Association and it’s volunteers help the children and youth of our parish to learn sportsmanship and Christian values.

As the growth continued, the Knights of Columbus, Council 7613 realized their dream for a hall. Hand in hand with the parish, they built a 2-story hall adjacent to the new sanctuary. Their gift to the parish of the upstairs meeting rooms for the use of the parish organizations and ministries is a sign of generosity and unity with the parish of St. Mark the Evangelist. It was dedicated on June 11th, 2005.

Two parochial vicars have served at St. Mark: Father Greg Nevlud for 15 months in 2001-2002 and Father Effendy Liwang, MSC from 2003-2006.

When the Building Committee completed the plans for the building of the Sanctuary, a Pipe Organ was planned for and the building was made ready for the organ in the plans. When the time came for bidding the cost of the sanctuary, the cost of the project had nearly doubled and the pipe organ was postponed. As the year 2006 unfolds, St. Mark is hoping to complete this last phase of the Sanctuary and build the pipe organ. This will be a very exciting last step in the Phase II.

In 2009 the St. Mark community welcomed the completion of our new pipe organ.  We commissioned the firm of Buzard Pipe Organ Builders of Champaign, Illinois as the builder. The instrument’s design encompasses 3-manuals, 35 stops and 43 ranks of pipes. We invite you to go to learn more about the firm, its philosophy and qualifications by going to: http://buzardorgans.com/ . 

Although St. Mark is a large parish, it is always ready to welcome new members and to encourage newcomers to take ownership in and serve the community as their gifts direct. We want to be a sign of the Kingdom of God in the Northside and a light to our larger community of San Antonio with our many ministries. See Contact List. Please visit us when you are in San Antonio and experience our welcome