Saint Lawrence of Rome (Laurentius, lit. laurelled; c. 225–258) was one of the seven deacons of ancient Rome under Pope Sixtus II that were martyred during the persecution of Emperor Valerian in 258. Saint Lawrence was born in Spain, at Huesca, a town in the Aragonregion near the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains. As a youth he was sent to Zaragoza to complete his humanistic and theological studies. Here he encountered the future Pope Sixtus II, who was of Greek origin, one of the most famous and highly esteemed teachers in Zaragoza, which was one of the empires most renowned centres of learning. Eventually, both left Spain for Rome. When Sixtus became the Pope in 257, he ordained Saint Lawrence as a deacon, and though still young appointed him first among the seven deacons who served in the patriarchal church. He is therefore called archdeacon of Rome, a position of great trust that included the care of the treasury and riches of the church and the distribution of alms among the poor. Saint Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, notes that Roman authorities had established a norm according to which all Christians who had been denounced must be executed and their goods confiscated by the Imperial treasury. At the beginning of August 258, the emperor Valerian issued an edict that all bishops, priests, and deacons should immediately be put to death. Sixtus was captured on 6 August 258, at the cemetery of Saint Callixtus while celebrating the liturgy and executed forthwith. After the death of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that Saint Lawrence turn over the riches of the Church. Saint Ambrose recounted that Saint Lawrence asked for three days to gather together the wealth. He worked swiftly to distribute as much Church property to the poor as possible, so as to prevent its being seized by the prefect. On the third day, at the head of a small delegation, he presented himself to the prefect, and when ordered to give up the treasures of the Church he presented the poor, the crippled, the blind and the suffering, and said these were the true treasures of the Church. One account records him declaring to the prefect, The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor. This act of defiance led directly to his martyrdom. On 10 August, Saint Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, suffered a martyrs death. Saint Lawrence was able to spirit away the chalice used during Christs Last Supper (the Holy Grail) to Huesca, in present-day Spain, with a letter and an inventory, where it lay hidden and unregarded for centuries. When Saint Augustine connects Saint 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. The Holy Grail is a relic sent by Saint Lawrence to his parents in northern Aragon. He entrusted this sacred chalice to a friend who he knew would travel back to Huesca, remaining in the monastery of San Juan de la Peña, core of spiritual strength for the emerging Kingdom of Aragon. While the chalices exact journey through the centuries is disputed, it is accepted by many Catholics that it was sent by his family to this monastery for preservation and veneration. Historical records indicate the 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 Cathedral of Valencia, Spain. Saint Lawrence was sentenced at San Lorenzo in Miranda, imprisoned in San Lorenzo in Fonte, and martyred at San Lorenzo in Panisperna. The Almanac of Philocalus for the year 354 mentions that he was buried in the Via Tiburtina in the Catacomb of Cyriaca by Hippolytus and Justin the Confessor, a presbyter. One of the early sources for the martyrdom was the description by Aurelius Prudentius Clemensin his Peristephanon, Hymn II. As deacon in Rome, Saint Lawrence was charged with the responsibility for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. Saint Ambrose of Milan relates that when Saint Lawrence was asked for the treasures of the Church he brought forward the poor, among whom he had divided the treasure as alms. Behold in these poor persons the treasures which I promised to show you; to which I will add pearls and precious stones, those widows and consecrated virgins, which are the church’s crown. 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 Saint Lawrences association with the gridiron). After the martyr had suffered the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, Im well done. Turn me over! From this derives his patronage of cooks and chefs.
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 07:22:14 +0000
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