St. John the Evangelist, chosen to be the patron of literature in the mural pictures, was a disciple of St. John the Baptist and was called by Christ to be His "beloved disciple."
The beloved disciple witnessed the raising of Jairus' daughter; the Transfiguration; he was sent with Peter to make preparations for the Last Supper; be witnessed the Agony in the Garden, arid he stood, alone of all the disciples, with our Blessed Mother at the foot of the Cross. His place at the Last Supper was next to Christ. His privilege it was to lean his head on the Master's bosom. He received our Blessed Mother as a son in the name of all mankind. He was the first after the Resurrection to hasten with Peter to the grave of our Saviour. He recognized our Blessed Redeemer after the Resurrection at the Lake of Genesareth. After the Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Ghost he took part with our Blessed Lady and Saint Peter in caring for the Church.
St. John, wrote sublime epistles for the early Christians, and after years in Palestine and beyond was exiled to the island of Patmos "for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" where he was honored with the heavenly revelation contained in the Apocalypse. The beloved Apostle in his prologue to his gospel story of Christ outlines in a few sentences, the divine generation of the Word and the di~ine tragedy of the Messias; such sentences as "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." "He came unto His own and His own received Him not, but as many as received Him He gave them power to be made the sons of God"; "And the Word was made Flesh and dwelt amongst us." In the mural, we see St. John at Patmos receiving Angelic inspiration.
The royal eagle is a fitting symbol for Saint John the Evangelist, for the eagle is known for grace, strength, keenness of vision and powers of flight above all creatures, as Saint John the Evangelist is sublime among all stylists, even the most royal of scriptural stylists, soaring to heaven itself to open his grand profession of faith in his gospel concerning the Eternal God, Creator and Redeemer.