St. Lawrence (martyr), one of the deacons of the Roman Church, was one of the victims of Valerian’s persecution in 258, as were Pope Sixtus II and many other Roman clergy. At the beginning of August 258, the emperor issued an edict ordering the immediate killing of all bishops, priests and deacons (“episcopi et presbyteriet diacones incontinenti animadvertantur” — Cyprian, Epist. lxxx, 1). This imperial order was immediately executed in Rome. On August 6, Pope Sixtus II was captured in a catacomb and immediately executed (“Xistum in cimiterio animadversum sciatis VIII id. Augusti et cum eo diacones quattuor.” Cyprian, ep. lxxx, 1). Two other deacons, Felicísimo and Agapito, were executed on the same day.
In the Roman calendar of feasts of the fourth century their feast day coincides with that date. Four days later, on August 10 of the same year, Lawrence, the last of the seven deacons, also suffered a martyr’s death. The death of this holy martyr is on that date according to the calendar of Philocallus for the year 354.
This almanac is an inventory of the main feasts of the Roman martyrs of the mid-fourth century; it also mentions the street where his tomb would be found, the Via Tiburtina (“III id. Aug. Laurentii in Tibertina”; Ruinart, “Acta sincera,” Regensburg, 1859, 632). The itineraries of the tombs of the Roman martyrs, as they became known in the seventh century, mention that this martyr was buried in the Catacomb of Ciriaca in agro Verano (De Rossi, “Roma Sott.”, I, 178).
Since the fourth century, St. Lawrence has been one of the most venerated martyrs of the Roman Church. Constantine the Great was the first to erect a small oratory over the place where he was buried. Pope Pelagius II (579-90) enlarged and embellished the site. Pope Sixtus III (432-40) built, on the top of the hill where he was buried, a large basilica with three naves whose apse is supported by the old church. In the 13th century, Pope Honorius III converted the buildings into one and this is how the Basilica of San Lorenzo stands today. Pope St. Damasus (366-84) wrote a panegyric in verse that was engraved in marble and placed over his tomb. Two contemporaries of this pope, St. Ambrose of Milan and the poet Prudentius, gave specific details about the death of St. Lawrence. Ambrose relates (De officiis min. Xxviii) that when St. Lawrence was asked about the treasures of the Church, he had the poor appear among those among whom, instead of giving them alms, he had distributed the treasure; he also related that when Pope Sixtus II was being taken away to be executed, he comforted St. Lawrence who wished to share his martyrdom, telling him that he would follow him in three days. The holy Bishop of Milan also explains that St. Lawrence was burned to death on an iron gridiron (De offic., xli). Similarly, but with more poetic detail, Prudentius describes the martyrdom of the Roman deacon in his hymn to St. Lawrence (“Peristephanon,” Hymnus II).
The encounter between St. Lawrence and Pope Sixtus II, when the latter was to be executed, according to St. Ambrose’s account, is not compatible with contemporary accounts of Valerian’s persecution. The manner in which he was executed-burned on a red-hot iron gridiron-also raises important doubts. The accounts of Ambrose and Prudentius are based more on oral tradition than on writings. It is quite possible that between 258 and the end of the fourth century popular legends arose about this revered Roman deacon and that some of these stories have been preserved by these two authors. In any case, we lack the means to verify in earlier sources the details derived from St. Ambrose and Prudentius, or to establish to what extent those details are based on earlier historical tradition. Other, more complete versions of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence were probably created in the early sixth century, and in these accounts many of the martyrs of the Via Tiburtina and of the two Catacombs of St. Ciriaca in agro Verano and St. Hippolytus were related in a romantic and wholly legendary way.
The details given in these Acts about the martyrdom of St. Lawrence and his activity before his death lack credibility. However, despite criticism of the later versions of his martyrdom, there is no doubt that St. Lawrence was a real historical figure or that the deacon was martyred; nor are there any doubts about the place where it occurred or the date of his burial. Pope Damasus built a basilica in Rome dedicated to St. Lawrence; this is the church known as St. Lawrence in Damasus. The church of San Lorenzo in Lucina, also dedicated to this saint, still exists. St. Lawrence’s feast day is still August 10 (the date of his death). He is depicted with the iron grill on which he is supposed to have been roasted to death.
