Saint Lawrence

Life story

Lawrence was a deacon of the Church of Rome in the mid third century, in the time of Pope Sixtus II. Tradition says he was born in Spain, perhaps in the Huesca region, but this is not certain. As one of the seven deacons of Rome, he was responsible for administering the community's property and for helping the poor.

In 257 and 258 the emperor Valerian issued edicts aimed at Christian clergy. According to reliable sources, on 6 August 258 Pope Sixtus II was arrested and executed along with his deacons, and Lawrence met the same fate four days later, on 10 August. Fourth-century writers, among them Ambrose and Prudentius, tell that Lawrence was pressed to hand over the Church's possessions.

Tradition says he presented the poor as the treasure of the Church and was roasted to death on a gridiron. Historians note that this detail appears late, and that earlier sources say only that he was beheaded. Veneration of him grew very early in Rome; the emperor Constantine had a church built over his tomb on the Via Tiburtina, now the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls, and he is named in the Roman Canon. His feast is kept on 10 August, and a large Roman basilica and many churches throughout Europe carry his name today. Roman Christians remembered him so vividly that for centuries pilgrims visited his tomb, and later popes were buried near it.

Works and witness

• One of the seven deacons of the Roman Church under Pope Sixtus II
• Responsible for the community's property and for aid to the poor
• Executed on 10 August 258, four days after Pope Sixtus
• According to tradition, roasted on a gridiron, though early sources say beheaded
• His tomb in Rome lies beneath the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls

Patron of

Deacons

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian, Saint Benedict of Nursia

References

• Ambrose of Milan, De Officiis
• Prudentius, Peristephanon
• Martyrologium Romanum

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.