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Lawrence of

“ Lawrence” redirects here. For other people Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor.” This or places named , see Saint Lawrence act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom and can be (disambiguation). For people or places named San compared to the parallel Roman tale of the jewels of Cor- Lorenzo, see San Lorenzo (disambiguation). nelia. On 10 August, St Lawrence, the last of the seven , Lawrence of Rome (: Laurentius, lit. suffered a ’s death.[4] extquotedbllaurelled extquotedbl; c. 225–258) was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome under Sixtus II that were martyred during the persecution of 2 Emperor in 258. According to lore, St Lawrence was able to spirit away the chalice used during Christ's Last Supper 1 Life (the extquotedblHoly Grail extquotedbl) to , in present-day , with a letter and a supposed inventory, where it lay hidden and unregarded for centuries. When St Lawrence is thought to have been born in Spain, at St. Augustine connects St Lawrence with a chalice, it is Huesca, a town in the region near the foot of tcal the chalice of the : studies. Here he encountered the future Pope Sixtus II, who was of Greek origin, one of the most famous and For in that Church, you see, as you have highly esteemed teachers in , which was one of regularly been told, he performed the office of the empire’s most renowned centres of learning. Eventu- ; it was there that he administered the ally, both left Spain for Rome. When Sixtus became the sacred chalice of Christ’s blood. [5] Pope in 257, he ordained St Lawrence as a deacon, and though still young appointed him first among the seven According to Catholic tradition the Holy Grail is a relic deacons who served in the patriarchal church. He is there- sent by St Lawrence to his parents in northern Aragon. fore called “ of Rome”, a position of great He entrusted this sacred chalice to a friend who he knew trust that included the care of the treasury and riches of would travel back to Huesca, remaining in the [1] the church and the distribution of alms among the poor. of San Juan de la Peña, core of spiritual strength for the St. , of , notes that Roman au- emerging Kingdom of Aragon. While the chalice’s ex- thorities had established a norm according to which all act journey through the centuries is disputed, it is ac- Christians who had been denounced must be executed cepted by many Catholics that it was sent by his family to and their goods confiscated by the Imperial treasury. At this monastery for preservation and veneration. Histor- the beginning of August 258, the emperor Valerian is- ical records indicate the chalice has been venerated and sued an edict that all , , and deacons should preserved by a number of monks and through immediately be put to death. Sixtus was captured on 6 the ages. Today the Holy Grail is venerated in a special August 258, at the cemetery of St. Callixtus while cele- chapel in the Catholic of , Spain. brating the liturgy and executed forthwith.[2] After the death of Sixtus, the of Rome demanded that St Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church. 3 Martyrdom St. is the earliest source for the tale that St Lawrence asked for three days to gather together the By tradition, St Lawrence was sentenced at San Lorenzo wealth.[3] He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church in Miranda, imprisoned in San Lorenzo in Fonte, and property to the poor as possible, so as to prevent its being martyred at San Lorenzo in Panisperna. The Almanac of seized by the prefect. On the third day, at the head of a Philocalus for the year 354 mentions that he was buried small delegation, he presented himself to the prefect, and in the Via Tiburtina in the Catacomb of Cyriaca[4] by when ordered to give up the treasures of the Church he Hippolytus and Justin the Confessor, a presbyter. One of presented the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffer- the early sources for the martyrdom was the description ing, and said these were the true treasures of the Church. by Aurelius Clemens in his Peristephanon, One account records him declaring to the prefect, “The Hymn II.

1 2 5 VENERATION

San Lorenzo in Panisperna was built over the place of his martyrdom. The gridiron of the martyrdom was placed by Pope Paschal II in the church of San Lorenzo in Lu- cina.

4 Miracles

The life and miracles of St Lawrence were collected in The Acts of St Lawrence, but this is now lost. The earliest existing documentation of miracles associated with him is in the writings of St Gregory of Tours (538–594), who The Martyrdom of St Lawrence, Tintoretto, oil on canvas, mentions the following: (Christ Church, Oxford) A named Fr. Sanctulus was rebuild- ing a church of St. Lawrence, which had been A well-known legend has persisted from earliest times. attacked and burnt, and hired many workmen As deacon in Rome, St Lawrence was charged with the to accomplish the . At one point during the responsibility for the material goods of the Church and construction, he found himself with nothing to the distribution of alms to the poor. St Ambrose of Mi- feed them. He prayed to St. Lawrence for lan relates that when St Lawrence was asked for the trea- help, and looking in his basket he found a fresh, sures of the Church he brought forward the poor, among white loaf of bread. It seemed to him too small whom he had divided the treasure as alms.[4] “Behold to feed the workmen, but in faith he began to in these poor persons the treasures which I promised serve it to the men. While he broke the bread, to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious it so multiplied that that his workmen fed from stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are it for ten days.[1] the church’s crown.”[1] The prefect was so angry that he had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence’s body placed on it (hence St Lawrence’s 5 Veneration association with the gridiron). After the martyr had suf- fered the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, “I'm well done. Turn me over! extquotedbl[6] From this derives his patronage of cooks and chefs. Some historians, such as Rev. Patrick Healy, view the traditions of how St Lawrence was martyred as “not wor- thy of credence”,[7] as the slow lingering death cannot be reconciled “with the express command contained in the edict regarding bishops, priests, and deacons (animadver- tantur) which ordinarily meant .”[7] A theory of how the tradition arose is put forward by Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri, who postulates that it was the result of a mistaken transcription, the accidental omission of the let- ter “p” – “by which the customary and solemn formula for announcing the death of a martyr – passus est [ ex- The stone on which St Lawrence’s body was laid after death, in tquotedblhe suffered,” that is, was martyred] – was made San Lorenzo fuori le mura to read assus est [he was roasted].”[7] The Liber Pontif- icalis, which is held to draw from sources independent St Lawrence is one of the most widely venerated of the existing traditions and Acta regarding Lawrence, of the Roman . Legendary details of his uses passus est concerning him, the same term it uses for death were known to Damasus, Prudentius, Ambrose and Pope Sixtus II (martyred by beheading during the same [7] Augustine. The church built over his tomb, San Lorenzo persecution). fuori le Mura, became one of the seven principal churches Constantine I is said to have built a small oratory in hon- in Rome and a favorite place for Roman pilgrimages.[6] our of St Lawrence, which was a station on the itineraries Devotion to him was widespread by the fourth century. of the graves of the Roman by the seventh cen- Since the Perseid Meteor Shower typically occurs every tury. rebuilt or repaired the church, now year in mid-August on or near his feast day, some refer to San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, while the minor basilica of the shower as the “Tears of St Lawrence.”[1] 3

6 Legacy

According to Fr. Francesco Moraglia, Professor of Dog- matic , the role of deacon is distinguished by service of the poor. He is destined both to the service of the table (corporal ) and to the service of the word (spiritual works of mercy). “The beauty, power and the heroism of Deacons such as Lawrence help to dis- cover and come to a deeper meaning of the special nature of the diaconal ministry.”[2] The Basilica of St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr is in Asheville, North Carolina.[9] Rescue operation for the miners trapped in the 2010 The in Rome containing the gridiron said to have been used Copiapó mining accident in was termed Operación to grill St Lawrence to death San Lorenzo after the saint.

7 Gallery

St Lawrence is especially honoured in the city of Rome, • A statue of St Lawrence overlooking the river named where he is one of the city’s patrons. There are sev- after him, the Saint Lawrence River eral churches in Rome dedicated to him, including San Lorenzo in Panisperna, traditionally identified as the • Lawrence statue in St Lawrence Deacon & Martyr place of his execution; the area near the San Lorenzo , Balagtas, Bulacan, [1]. basilica is called Quartiere San Lorenzo. He is invoked by , archivists, cooks, and tanners as their pa- • St Lawrence holding the gridiron, by the Master of tron. His celebration on 10 August has the rank of feast Meßkirch, c.1535-40. throughout the Catholic world.[8] On this day, the reli- • quary containing his burnt head is displayed in the Vati- St Lawrence, Ranworth Rood Screen, Ranworth, St can for veneration. Helen’s Church, UK, c.1430 The Escorial Palace, at the foot of Mt Abantos in the • St Lawrence pictured on the astronomical clock in Sierra de Guadarrama, was built by King Philip II of , Sweden. Spain to commemorate the victory over King Henry II of France at the Battle of St Quentin, which took place on the feast of St Lawrence, 10 August 1557. To honour 8 In popular culture him, the floor of this imposing edifice was laid out in the form of a gridiron, the means by which St Lawrence was In Fargo season 1, episode 2 ( extquotedblThe Rooster martyred. Prince extquotedbl), Lorne Malvo notes the French explorer gave the name of St window of Saint Lawrence in Stavros’ office, in response Lawrence to the widest river estuary in the world. At the to which Stavros relates the martyrdom story as evidence mouth of this river is the large Gulf of Saint Lawrence, that Lawrence was a “kick-ass” saint. Malvo references surrounded by the Canadian Maritime provinces. Closer the window again, in extquotedblThe Six Ungraspables to the source are the Laurentian mountains (north of extquotedbl. the city of ), Saint-Laurent (borough), and the famed Saint Lawrence Boulevard, which spans the full 11.25 km width of the island of Montreal. Further up- 9 See also stream, on the south side of the river near its source at , is St Lawrence County, . • Saint Lawrence (disambiguation) for places, St Lawrence is the of Ampleforth Abbey churches and schools called St Lawrence or St whose Benedictine monks founded the world’s leading Laurent public school for Catholics, located in the North of Eng- land. He is venerated by Anglo-Catholics. A major • San Lorenzo del Escorial, the monastery built by church in , Australia, in the former civil (land di- Philip II to commemorate his victory at St Quentin vision) parish of St Lawrence, is called extquotedblChrist on the feast day of St Lawrence. The monastery and Church St. Laurence extquotedbl. The Brotherhood of St the attached palace, college, and library are laid out Laurence also bears his name. in a grid resembling a grill with a handle. 4 11 EXTERNAL LINKS

• Saint Lawrence River

• San Lorenzo de Almagro •

• Lorcán Ua Tuathail, also known as St Laurence O'Toole

10 References

[1] “St. Lawrence, Deacon Martyr,” said to have been mar- tyred by being put on a gridiron. St. Lawrence Orthodox Christian Church

[2] Moraglia, Fr. Francesco, “St. Lawrence, Proto-Deacon Of The Roman Church”, Vatican

[3] Saint Ambrose, De officiis ministrorum, 2.28

[4] Kirsch, Johann Peter. “St. Lawrence.” The Catholic En- cyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Com- pany, 1910. 9 Feb. 2013

[5] [St Augustine. “Second Reading of the feast day of St Laurence. “ A sermon preached by St Augustine on the feast day of St Laurence. Published in the Univer- salis of August 10 each year. http://www.universalis.com/ 20130810/readings.htm]

[6] Foley OFM, Leonard, “St. Lawrence”, Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons, and Feast (Revised by Pat McCloskey OFM), Franciscan Media, ISBN 978-0-86716-887-7

[7] Rev. Patrick Healy (1905). The Valerian persecu- tion: a study of the relations between church and state in the third century A.D. Boston, Ma: Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

[8] From the oldest Christian calendars, such as the Almanac of Philocalus for the year 354, the inventory of which con- tains the principal feasts of the Roman martyrs of the mid- dle of the fourth century, onwards.

[9] Saint Lawrence Basilica

11 External links

• Henry Wace, A Dictionary of Christian Biography: Laurentius • Golden Legend: “The Life of Saint Laurence”

• Leo I: Sermon on St Lawrence

• Church of Saint Lawrence, Birgu, • Patron of Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire 5

12 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

12.1 Text

• Lawrence of Rome Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Rome?oldid=629606895 Contributors: Zoe, Panairjdde, Montre- alais, D, Menchi, Mic, Mpolo, Fibonacci, Wetman, Darkcore, Mirv, Rholton, JackofOz, Gtrmp, Snowdog, Varlaam, Gugganij, Neilc, Andycjp, Jonel, Scottperry, Balcer, Gerald Farinas, Discospinster, Rich Farmbrough, CanisRufus, Ruyn, Lima, Markussep, Renice, Bro- kenSegue, Alpheus, Man vyi, Sam Korn, Polylerus, Caeruleancentaur, Pearle, Storm Rider, Riana, Sligocki, Zeborah, Lugevas, Quotison, Wtmitchell, Max rspct, Spartacus007, Sandylouise, Tabletop, Kelisi, Hailey C. Shannon, Bluemoose, Estarriol, Cuchullain, Mana Excalibur, Janothird, Ground Zero, Michel BUZE, Ryvr, Bgwhite, Benvenuto, YurikBot, RussBot, Rakkar, Hede2000, Rapomon, Takwish, Jenblower, PaulGarner, Howcheng, Aldux, Tbook, Lockesdonkey, Evrik, PTSE, Dilbert08, Willtron, SmackBot, Elonka, WikiuserNI, Zaqarbal, Es- kimbot, Mike Nishimuta, Carl.bunderson, Ludi, Stevage, Alfion, Nccsa186, Chlewbot, Rrburke, Jwy, Bigturtle, Kismetmagic, Bydand, Bednarek, Ejs-80, 16@r, Neddyseagoon, Bwpach, Snezzy, Dl2000, Geaugagrrl, Diz syd 63, Courcelles, PaddyM, Angeldeb82, JeffJ, Fetofsbot2, Rwflammang, 5-HT8, Drinibot, Dgw, Cassmus, King Hildebrand, Vsl, Vaquero100, Cydebot, Kanags, Road Wizard, Markswan, Zuchinno, Energyfreezer, King konger, JamesAM, Malleus Fatuorum, Thijs!bot, Daa89563, Ancatdubh43, KawasakiNinja, Gioto, Cassian, Fayenatic london, JAnDbot, XyBot, DuncanHill, .anacondabot, Geniac, Queenofthewilis, JamesBWatson, Froid, Doesper, FisherQueen, MartinBot, STBot, Jordi G, Wowaconia, Juansidious, Gguy, Icseaturtles, Pavement1978, KylieTastic, Pastordavid, Squids and Chips, VolkovBot, HeckXX, Philip Trueman, Martinevans123, TXiKiBoT, Dickstracke, Olly150, John Carter, Mardhil, Psyche825, Peter- Huntington, Rhettro76, AlleborgoBot, SieBot, BotMultichill, Art Serebren, Gravitan, Jojalozzo, Hxhbot, Dancerstarmonkey, Mimihitam, ChristopherKellyHolmes, Sjwells53, Acahopkins, Fratrep, Johnanth, Cyfal, Benkenobi18, Martarius, ClueBot, VQuakr, Elisabethserafi- movski, Niceguyedc, Jusdafax, ProudPapa5, Riccardo Riccioni, Westofpch, Kjaneway, EstherLois, DumZiBoT, Little Mountain 5, Addbot, Dawynn, Freekwiki, NjardarBot, ShepBot, Lightbot, Manfercas, Bermicourt, Rrmsjp, Luckas-bot, Yobot, TaBOT-zerem, Rsquire3, Roltz, AnomieBOT, Ambrosiaster, LlywelynII, Materialscientist, Xqbot, Jayarathina, Johnhpope, Camille 826, Metalbug, Rat2, Aidas, Baronkid, FrescoBot, Mr fanshaw, BobHarris99, Pepsi 98, Pinethicket, Gugu102, MastiBot, FoxBot, Teiresia, Arachnid8124, Sideways713, Terry ny- orks, EmausBot, WikitanvirBot, Ramon FVelasquez, Willthacheerleader18, GrayFullbuster, Zhu Wuneng, ClueBot NG, This lousy T-shirt, Mannanan51, Helpful Pixie Bot, Calabe1992, Jasheco, Smeat75, Jamesbond76, Conifer, SupernovaExplosion, YFdyh-bot, Aymankamel- wiki, MartyMcFish, Palmettoredbird, Inglesuk, Xenxax, Stlawrencecock and Anonymous: 221

12.2 Images

• File:Commons-logo.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg License: ? Contributors: ? Original artist: ? • File:Lawrence-before-Valerianus.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Lawrence-before-Valerianus. jpg License: Public domain Contributors: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. Original artist: • File:Mergefrom.svg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Mergefrom.svg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ? • File:Saint_Lawrence_stone.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Saint_Lawrence_stone.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: ? Original artist: ? • File:San_lorenzo’{}s_grill.png Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/San_lorenzo%27s_grill.png License: Public domain Contributors: Queenofthewilis Original artist: User Queenofthewilis on en.wikipedia • File:Tintoretto.jpg Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Tintoretto.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/the-martyrdom-of-saint-lawrence-229124 Original artist: Tintoretto

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