Saint Laurence, Deacon & Martyr
S. Laurentii Martyris
Saint Laurence, archdeacon of the Roman Church, gave the goods of the Church to the poor and was put to death in the persecution of the year 258; he is among the most honoured of the early Roman martyrs.
Saint Laurence was one of the seven deacons of the Church of Rome in the middle of the third century, serving as archdeacon under Pope Saint Sixtus II. To the deacons of that age was entrusted not only the service of the altar but also the care of the goods of the Church and the relief of the poor, and in this charge Laurence laboured faithfully. His feast, kept on the tenth of August, is one of the oldest and most venerable in the Roman calendar, and from early times the city of Rome held his memory in singular honour.
The treasures of the Church
In the year 258, under the Emperor Valerian, a fierce persecution fell upon the Church, and an edict commanded that the bishops, priests, and deacons be put to death. Pope Saint Sixtus II was seized while celebrating the sacred mysteries and was led away to martyrdom; and according to the ancient tradition, Laurence followed his bishop weeping, longing to share his death, and Sixtus foretold that the deacon would follow him after three days.
The account handed down in the Church, and praised by Saint Ambrose and others among the Fathers, relates that the prefect of Rome, believing the Church to possess great riches, demanded that Laurence deliver up its treasures. Laurence asked for a space of time, and gathering together the poor, the sick, the widows, and the orphans whom the Church sustained, he presented them to the prefect, saying that these were the true treasures of the Church. For this he was condemned to a cruel death.
His martyrdom and veneration
The tradition relates that Saint Laurence was put to death by fire, stretched upon a gridiron, and that he bore his agony with such constancy and peace that he is remembered as a very pattern of Christian fortitude. The collect of his feast prays that God, who granted blessed Laurence to overcome the fires of his torments, may grant us to extinguish the flames of our vices. He was buried on the road to Tibur, and over his tomb a great basilica arose, Saint Laurence outside the Walls, where he is venerated to this day.
So great was the devotion of the Roman people to Saint Laurence that his feast was kept, like those of the Apostles, with a vigil and an octave, a mark of the highest honour. In him the Church honours a deacon who served the poor as the treasure of Christ, and who in his death bore witness that the love of God is stronger than any torment. He is named in the ancient Roman Canon of the Mass among the martyrs of the Church.
The Collect
Grant, we beseech thee, O almighty God, that we may quench the flames of our vices, even as thou didst enable blessed Laurence to overcome the fires of his torments.
Da nobis, quæsumus, omnípotens Deus: vitiórum nostrórum flammas exstínguere; qui beáto Lauréntio tribuísti tormentórum suórum incéndia superáre.
Patronage
He is venerated as a patron of the poor, of deacons, of cooks, and of the city of Rome; he is named among the martyrs in the Roman Canon of the Mass.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his feast is observed on the same day, 10 August, with the rank of a feast.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Laurence?
His feast is kept on 10 August in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Second Class feast with its own vigil. The modern calendar likewise keeps him on 10 August, as a feast.
Who was Saint Laurence?
He was the archdeacon of the Roman Church under Pope Saint Sixtus II and one of its seven deacons. Charged with the care of the goods of the Church and the relief of the poor, he was put to death in the persecution of Valerian in the year 258, and is one of the most honoured of the early Roman martyrs.
Why is he remembered for ‘the treasures of the Church’?
According to the ancient tradition, when the prefect of Rome demanded that he hand over the riches of the Church, Saint Laurence gathered the poor, the sick, and the suffering whom the Church sustained and presented them, declaring that these were the Church’s true treasures. For this he was condemned to a martyr’s death.
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