St Lawrence August 10th

The Martyr Treasurer

St Lawrence was the Treasurer of the early Church in Rome.  He was called in front of a magistrate and told to hand over the treasures of the Church.

He said: 0k I’ll need three days to do that.

3 days later he came back with sick people, disabled people, old people, orphans.  These, he said, are the treasures of the Church of Rome. He had also distributed the treasures to the poor to prevent then getting into Roman hands.  He is, thus, the patron saint of the poor.

So, the Romans sentenced him to be executed on a griddle over a fire.  I presume because they hoped he might relent and give information about where the treasures really were.

Where he was executed is not known but, normally, martyrdoms were held at an amphitheatre.

When the burning was halfway through, Lawrence turns to the executioner and says: Turn me over.  I’m done on this side.

So, he is the patron saint of City Officials, Cooks and Comedians! Also Tanners, Butchers and Librarians.

St Lawrence Church in London is on the site of the Roman Amphitheatre.  Now, us archaeologists didn’t know this till the 1980s.  But presumably they did know it in the medieval period.  Unless the attribution is a lucky coincidence.

He was martyred during the persecution of Valerian 258 AD.

For more about the London Amphitheatre see my posts here and here.

Because the Perseids Meteor Shower are at their peak around this period, they are called the tears of St Lawrence.

See my post on August 12th.

On This day

Death of Cleopatra August 10th 30BC