Since the fourth century St. Lawrence has been
one of the most honoured martyrs of the Roman Church. Constantine the
Great was the first to erect a little oratory over his burial-place,
which was enlarged and beautified by Pope Pelagius II (579-90). Pope
Sixtus III (432-40) built a large basilica with three naves, the apse
leaning against the older church, on the summit of the hill where he was
buried. In the thirteenth century Honorius III made the two buildings
into one, and so the basilica of San Lorenzo remains to this day. Pope
St. Damasus (366-84) wrote a panegyric in verse, which was engraved in
marble and placed over his tomb. Two contemporaries of the last-named
pope, St. Ambrose of Milan and the poet Prudentius, give particular
details about St. Lawrence's death. Ambrose relates (De officiis min.
xxviii) that when St. Lawrence was asked for the treasures of the Church
he brought forward the poor, among whom he had divided the treasure, in
place of alms; also that when Pope Sixtus II was led away to his death
he comforted Lawrence, who wished to share his martyrdom, by saying that
he would follow him in three days. The saintly Bishop of Milan also
states that St. Lawrence was burned to death on a grid-iron (De offic.,
xli). In like manner, but with more poetical detail, Prudentius
describes the martyrdom of the Roman deacon in his hymn on St. Lawrence
("Peristephanon", Hymnus II).
The meeting between St. Lawrence and Pope
Sixtus II, when the latter was being led to execution, related by St.
Ambrose, is not compatible with the contemporaneous reports about the
persecution of Velarian. The manner of his execution—burning on a
red-hot gridiron—also gives rise to grave doubts. The narrations of
Ambrose and Prudentius are founded rather on oral tradition than on
written accounts. It is quite possible that between the year 258 and the
end of the fourth century popular legends may have grown up about this
highly venerated Roman deacon, and some of these legends have been
preserved by these two authors. We have, in any case, no means of
verifying from earlier sources the details derived from St. Ambrose and
Prudentius, or of ascertaining to what extent such details are supported
by earlier historical tradition. Fuller accounts of the martyrdom of
St. Lawrence were composed, probably, early in the sixth century, and in
these narratives a number of the martyrs of the Via Tiburtina and of
the two Catacombs of St. Cyriaca in agro Verano and St. Hippolytius were
connected in a romantic and wholly legendary fashion. The details given
in these Acts concerning the martyrdom of St. Lawrence and his activity
before his death cannot claim any credibility. However, in spite of
this criticism of the later accounts of the martyrdom, there can be no
question that St. Lawrence was a real historical personage, nor any
doubt as to the martyrdom of that venerated Roman deacon, the place of
its occurrence, and the date of his burial. Pope Damasus built a
basilica in Rome which he dedicated to St. Lawrence; this is the church
now known as that of San Lorenzo in Damaso. The church of San Lorenzo in
Lucina, also dedicated to this saint, still exists. The feast day of
St. Lawrence is kept on 10 August. He is pictured in art with the
gridiron on which he is supposed to have been roasted to death.
Feast Day:
August 10
Born:
225, Osca, Hispania (now modern-day Spain)
Died:
August 10, 258, Rome
Major Shrine:
Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura in Rome
Patron of:
Rome, comedians, librarians, students, tanners, chefs
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