7 facts about Saint Lawrence: One of the most famous saints of antiquity

Every August 10, Saint Lawrence is celebrated, one of the seven deacons of Rome at the time of Pope Sixtus II and one of the most famous saints of antiquity.

Here we present some curious facts about his life.

1. An astronomical phenomenon is named after him

“Tears of Saint Lawrence” is the popular name given to a shower of shooting stars (the Perseids) visible every year around the 11th and 12th; or August 12 and 13. The name began to be used in memory of the martyred deacon much later in medieval Europe.

2. A football club is named after him

The name of Pope Francis’ favorite soccer team, the Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagrois in honor of the martyred deacon. Just as was the wish of the Salesian Fr. Lorenzo Massa, at the beginning of the founding of the team.

3. In Rome he is the most important saint after Peter and Paul

With a tranquility that no one had imagined, during his martyrdom he prayed for the conversion of Rome and the spread of the religion of Christ in the world, until he breathed his last.

The professor of systematic theology, Francesco Moraglia, explains that “the city, which attributed to him the definitive victory over paganism, chose him as its third patron and has celebrated his festival since the 4th century, as the second festival in order of importance after the of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul”.

Likewise, “34 churches and chapels were erected in his honor, a tangible sign of gratitude to him who, faithful to his ministry, had been among them a true minister and servant of charity.”

4. A Basilica in Rome is dedicated to him

The Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside the Walls, where the saint’s tomb is located, is one of the five patriarchal or papal basilicas.

Inside the Basilica there is a marble stone where, according to tradition, the body of Saint Lawrence was placed immediately after his martyrdom, leaving part of his silhouette printed.

Every year in the San Lorenzo neighborhood a pilgrimage and a Mass are held in his honor. The pilgrimage is accompanied by a relic of the saint carried in a small monstrance.

5. He is the patron saint of chefs

San Lorenzo of Rome is the patron saint of cooks. After enduring terrible torture with whippings and hot iron bars, he was sentenced to die on a kind of giant grill.

According to tradition, after a while of burning on the grill he told the judge: “I’m already roasted on one side. Now turn me to the other side so I can be completely roasted.” The executioner ordered him to be turned over and thus he was completely burned.

6. His martyrdom was predicted by Pope Saint Sixtus II

Saint Lawrence was one of the deacons who assisted Pope Saint Sixtus II, who was murdered by the emperor’s police while he was celebrating Mass in a cemetery in Rome.

Ancient tradition says that when Lorenzo saw that the Supreme Pontiff was going to be killed, the latter said:

“To us, because we are old, has been assigned the course of an easier race; to you, because you are young, a more glorious triumph over the tyrant belongs to you. You will soon come, stop crying: in three days you will follow me “Between a bishop and a Levite it is appropriate that this interval should exist” (Saint Ambrose, De Officiis, n. 206).

7. Pope Saint Leo the Great dedicated a beautiful homily to him

In the 5th century, the Doctor of the Church and Pope, Saint Leo the Great, said of Saint Lawrence that “the flames could not overcome the charity of Christ; and the fire that burned him outside was weaker than that burned within him.” “.

And he added: “The Lord wanted to exalt his glorious name to such an extent throughout the world that, from East to West, in the most vivid splendor of the light radiated by the greatest deacons, the same glory that Jerusalem received through Stephen also touched Rome for the merits of Lorenzo” (Homily 85, 4: PL 54, 486).

Originally published August 10, 2022. It has been updated for republication.