Saint Lawrence

This page concerns the Christian martyr.

Pope Leo I on St. Lawrence

*Saint Lawrence*
Fra Angelico painted this fresco of Saint Lawrence's trial. Note the deacon's robes on the saint.
Deacon and Martyr
Born	Spain 225
Died	August 10, 258, in Rome
Venerated in	Catholicism, Anglicanism, some other Christians
Canonized	As with most early saints, there was no official canonization process. Cult is documented since the fourth century.
Major shrine	Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome
Feast	August 10
Attributes	Usually holding a gridiron and wearing a dalmatic
Patronage	Rome, Canada, Sri Lanka, comedians, librarians, students, tanners
The fire within him enabled him to withstand the external fire.

Saint Lawrence (225-258) (Latin Laurentius, "laurelled") was one of the seven deacons of Rome who were martyred under the persecution of Roman Emperor Valerian in 258. Cyprian, the contemporary bishop of Carthage (Epistles 80.1: ad Successum) mentions the directive of Valerian that Christian bishops, presbyters, and deacons should forthwith be punished, and records the martyrdom of Xystus bishop of Rome, in accordance with it on August 6 (Wace).

The Acta of Lawrence, were lost by the time of Augustine, one of whose sermons on Saint Lawrence (Sermo 302, de Sancto Laurent.) admits that his narration was gained from tradition instead of reciting the Acts as his preferred custom was (St Ambrose, de Officina i. 41).

Such early legends made Lawrence a native of Huesca (Roman Osca) in Hispania Tarraconensis, who had received religious instruction from Archdeacon Sixtus in Rome. When Sixtus became bishop (by courtesy, in retrospect "Pope") in 257, Lawrence was ordained a deacon and was placed in charge of the administration of Church goods and care for the poor. For this duty, he is regarded as one of the first archivists and treasurers of the Church and made the patron of librarians.

In the persecutions under Emperor Valerian I in 258, numerous priests and bishops were put to death, while Christians belonging to the nobility or the senate were deprived of their goods and exiled. Pope St. Sixtus II was one of the first victims of this persecution, being crucified on August 6. A legend cited by St Ambrose of Milan says that Lawrence met the Pope on his way to his execution, where he is reported to have said, "Where are you going, my dear father, without your son? Where are you hurrying off to, holy priest, without your deacon? Before you never mounted the altar of sacrifice without your servant, and now you wish to do it without me?" The Pope is reported to have prophesied that "after three days you will follow me". Modern scholars tend to read this moving encounter as a literary invention.

Lawrence and the Holy Chalice

Among the treasure of the Roman church entrusted to Lawrence for safe-keeping, according to the lore accrued to the Holy Chalice, was the cup from which Jesus and the Apostles drank at the Last Supper, which Lawrence was able to spirit away to Huesca, Spain, with a letter and a supposed inventory, where it lay hidden and unregarded for centuries. Early sources and the Catholic Encyclopedia make no mention of such an outstanding transaction. When Augustine connects Lawrence with a chalice, it is the chalice of the Mass:

"For in that Church, you see, as you have regularly been told, he performed the office of deacon; it was there that he administered the sacred chalice of Christ’s blood". —Sermon on St Lawrence.

According to Catholic understanding, the Holy Grail is a relic that was sent by St. Lawrence to his parents in Spain. He entrusted this sacred chalice to a friend who he knew would travel back to Spain, his home country. While the Holy Chalice's exact journey through the centuries is disputed, it is generally accepted by Catholics that the Chalice was sent by his family to a monastery for preservation and veneration. Historical records indicate that this chalice has been venerated and preserved by a number of monks and monasteries through the ages. Today the Holy Grail is venerated in a special chapel in the Catholic Cathedral in the city of Valencia, Spain, in the region of St. Lawrence's birth and early life.

The jewels of St Lawrence

After the death of Sixtus, the praefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church. Ambrose (De officiis min. xxviii) is the earliest source for the tale that Lawrence asked for three days to gather together the wealth. Lawrence worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the poor as possible, so as to prevent its being seized by the parallel Roman tale of the jewels of Cornelia.

Martyrdom

It is said that Lawrence was burned to death. Many modern scholars hold death by decapitation to be more likely. August 10 is celebrated as his feast day in the oldest Christian calendars, such as the Almanac of Philocalus for the year 354, the inventory of which contains the principal feasts of the Roman martyrs of the middle of the fourth century AD.

According to legend, when Lawrence was asked by Emperor Valerian to bring forth the Church's treasures he brought forth the orphaned, crippled and diseased of the kingdom and announced that "These are the treasures of the Church!" This act of defiance resulted in the public torture and execution of Lawrence on the site of the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Rome by means of "grilling to death." Legend says that he was so strong-willed that instead of giving in to the Romans and releasing information about the Church, at the point of death he exclaimed "Turn me over. I am done on this side!" For this reason Saint Lawrence has been deemed the Patron Saint of Chefs and specifically those who cook on barbeques. In religious art he is often depicted holding a metal grill to memorialize his martyrdom.

Lawrence was buried in the Via Tiburtina in the Catacomb of Cyriaca by Hippolytus and Justinus, a presbyter. Constantine I is said to have built a small oratory in honour of the martyr, which was a station on the itineraries of the graves of the Roman martyrs by the 7th century. Pope Damasus I rebuilt or repaired the church, now known as San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, while the minor basilica of San Lorenzo in Panisperna was built over the place of his martyrdom. The gridiron of the martyrdom was put by Pope Paschal II in the church of San Lorenzo in Lucina.

Henry Wace stated, "Few martyrdoms of the first three centuries are better attested than this one."

Sources

One of the early sources for the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence was the description by Marcus Aurelius Prudentius in his Peristephanon, Hymn II.

Veneration

Lawrence is one of the most widely venerated saints of the Catholic Church. Devotion to him was widespread by the 4th century. As his martyrdom occurred very early in Church history, many other Christians honor him as well.

Lawrence is especially honored in the city of Rome, where he is one of the city's patrons. There are several churches in Rome dedicated to him, including San Lorenzo in Panisperma, traditionally identified as the place of his execution. He is invoked by librarians, cooks, and tanners as their patron. His celebration on August 10 has the rank of feast throughout the Catholic world. On this day, the reliquary containing his burnt head is displayed in the Vatican for veneration.

The Divine Office accords this special prayer to him on his feast day (from the translation in Christian Prayer):

"Father, you called Saint Lawrence to serve you by love and crowned his life with glorious martyrdom. Help us to be like him in loving you and doing your work. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

There is furthermore a miraculous event that has been witnessed each year on August 10, the Saint's feast day, in a church outside of Rome, where some of the Saint's blood is believed to be preserved in a vial. The blood, now centuries old, begins to liquify on the vigil of his feast, becoming entirely liquid by the start of the feast day. The blood then re-hardens after the day is concluded. This is attested to by the local residents and parishioners. They attribute this miracle to the intercession of the Saint, who gives this reminder of his martyrdom, intercession for the faithful, and proof of the truth of the Catholic Faith. The miracle of his blood can be witnessed by any individual at the stated times. The vial in which the blood is contained is not touched or in any way influenced by human means.

External links

Henry Wace, A Dictionary of Christian Biography: Laurentius
Catholic Encyclopedia Saint Lawrence
Golden Legend: "The Life of Saint Laurence"
Leo I: Sermon on St Lawrence

225 births | 258 deaths | Ancient Roman Christianity | Christian martyrs | Saints