St Lawrence, Martyr

This is the feast of St Lawrence, Martyr (S. Laurentii Martyris), as observed in the traditional Roman calendar of 1962. St Lawrence, one of the most revered deacons of the early Church, served under Pope St Sixtus II in mid-third-century Rome, at a time of severe persecution by the Emperor Valerian. When Pope Sixtus was arrested and executed with other clergy in 258, Lawrence was left in charge of the Church’s temporal goods and the care of the poor. Soon after, the Roman authorities demanded that Lawrence surrender the Church’s treasures; in response, he famously presented the poor as the Church’s true riches. Lawrence’s steadfastness led to his martyrdom, traditionally described as being roasted alive on a gridiron, an account that, while ancient, is partly legendary in its details. His courageous witness inspired devotion to him since the earliest times, and his tomb near Rome became a major site of pilgrimage. The traditional Roman calendar keeps his feast on August 10 with great solemnity, ranked as a Second Class feast, in recognition of his prominence among the martyrs of Rome and his role as a model of Christian charity, courage, and fidelity to Christ even unto death.