The word evangelist comes from the Greek meaning, “proclaimer of the Good News.” In Catholic tradition, the term “evangelist” has been used since the third century to refer to the authors attributed to the canonical Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

According to ecclesiastical tradition, Matthew was one of the 12 Apostles. He wrote his Gospel in Aramaic around 70 A.D. specifically for Christians converted from Judaism.

Mark, a disciple of Jesus, summarized the preaching of St. Peter into gospel form around 60-65 A.D. in Rome.

Luke, a medical man of pagan origin, was a companion of St. Paul and wrote his Gospel (along with the Acts of the Apostles) in Greek around 75 A.D.

The Gospel of John was the last to be written (around 90-100 A.D. in Ephesus), and the actual author may have been a close associate of the Apostle John who carefully redacted and faithfully recorded what he himself heard from one of the last living eyewitnesses to the Lord.

In the early Church, the “four living creatures” that encircle God’s throne in the Book of Revelation (4:7-8) became symbols for the evangelists.

These symbols originated from the four-sided creatures described by the prophet Ezekiel 600 years before the birth of Christ. “Within it (a storm wind) were figures resembling four living creatures that looked like this: their form was human, but each had four faces and four wings ... Each of the four had the face of a man, but on the right side was the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox and finally each had the face of an eagle.” (Ezekiel 1:5, 6 & 10)

Sources:

(1) dolr

(2) stjames-cathedral

(3) aleteia