The edicts issued in the years 257 and 258 by Emperor Valerian I forbade visits to Christian cemeteries and holding any kind of celebrations and ordered (under the penalty of death) Christian clergy to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods. The goal of such a brutal decree was to uphold the sanctified tradition of the ancestors, as well as maintain peace in the state, whose very foundations – as it seemed to the emperor – were being questioned by Christians (cult of the martyrs). Pope Sixtus II ignored this decree, which ended in him being captured in the Catacombs of St. Callixtus and then beheaded in 258. Similar fate befell his deacons. One of these was Lawrence. Reportedly prior to being imprisoned the pope ordered him to give all the treasures belonging to the commune to the faithful, in order to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Roman prefect – to which Lawrence obliged. Legends say nothing of Lawrence being beheaded, which most likely happened, but about cruel tortures to which he was subjected. This happened so that he would divulge information about where the treasures were kept.

According to the Liber Pontificalis the body of the martyred Lawrence was then laid to rest in the catacombs at via Tiburtina (Catacombs of St. Cyriacus). His feast to commemorate the day of his death is celebrated in the Catholic Church on August 10. The saint’s cult appeared soon after and was far removed from that which accompanied his fellow martyrs – Pope Sixtus II, not to mention the other two deacons (Felicissimus and Agapetus). Why was it Lawrence who received such esteem and became for the Romans, and later for all Christians one of the most important saints, which is further evidenced by the numerous versions of his life which filled the imagination of the faithful. It seems that there are a few reasons for this. According to the legend, Lawrence despite being tortured, ridiculed the prefect, telling him in a hardy fashion that, it is the crippled, ill, widows, orphans, and the poor whom he took care of, who are the greatest treasure of the Church. Perhaps it was the fame of a deacon elevating the poor that so deeply moved the hearts of Romans. Perhaps, equally important was the tale of his spectacular death, which he was to suffer: being grilled alive definitely emphasized the limitless bestiality of pagans. If that was not enough, the roasted Lawrence, suffering greatly on the red hot gridiron was supposed to, as legend would have it, say the following to his oppressor, meaning Emperor Valerian: “You poor man, for me this fire is cool, but for you it shall be eternal torture”. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that it was the gridiron which became the saint’s attribute, while his bravery, devotion to the faith and disregard for death were to be the reason for the conversion of many pagans, including St. Hippolytus. Thus, the love of the poor and a spectacular death seem to be the elements, which in a decisive way contributed to the great popularity of Lawrence. On the other hand, for Church dignitaries he was also a hero, who did not surrender and did not give up the wealth of the Church and the holy texts, which often occurred during the persecutions of Christians and which was looked upon very negatively by members of Christian communes.

In time Lawrence would become the patron of various types of professions connected with fire. Apart from glassblowers, firefighters and bakers he also cared for cooks. And here it would be good to mention a rather comical moment of his grotesque death: one of the legends says that lying on the grill, Lawrence turned to his oppressors proposing that they should turn him over to the other side, since he had roasted enough. The roasting of the latter saint was reportedly accompanied by a magnificent smell. In time Lawrence also became the intercessor of the poor and ill especially those suffering from sciatica, spinal aches, burned and afflicted by the plague, but most of all those who were burning in the fires of hell, from where, the saint martyr every Friday (thanks to intercession prayers), freed one soul. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that in folk religion of the common people he acquired great renown, while as time passed, the Church decision-makers looked more and more favorably upon his cult, especially since crowds of pilgrims prayed to him in many places of the then Rome.

Laurentius was for ages one of the favorite saints in Italy. In Rome itself there were approximately thirty churches dedicated to him. From among those still in existence today, the most important for his cult is the patriarchal Basilica of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls (San Lorenzo fuori le mura), where the tomb of the martyr is found and where his relics are stored. In the Church of San Lorenzo in Fonte, there was, according to the legend, the prison in which the deacon was kept immediately prior to his death, while in the San Lorenzo in Panisperna his martyrdom took place. In the Church of San Lorenzo in Lucina, the gridiron is kept – the instrument of Lawrence’s torture, as well as the chains with which he was bound. Besides these churches, it is worth mentioning such places as the Church of San Lorenzo in Damaso and San Lorenzo in Miranda, as well as a countless number of chapels, altars and paintings created in subsequent centuries and preserved in various churches with the intention of commemorating this Roman martyr.

Throughout the centuries, St. Lawrence was depicted as a young deacon in a typical for this function dalmatic, giving out bread to the poor. Just as often he is shown during his martyrdom, on the gridiron.

The most important works devoted to St. Lawrence in Rome:

•     Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le mura

Mosaics in the triumphal arch

•     Church of San Lorenzo in Fonte

Main altar: The Baptism of St Hippolytus, on the side Lawrence Distributing Bread to the Poor and The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence (Giovanni Battista Speranza)

•     Church of San Lorenzo in Miranda

Main altar The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, Pietro da Cortona, 1646

•     Church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna

Main altar: fresco The Martyrdom of St. Lawrence, Pasquale Cati, 1589

•     Church of San Lorenzo in Lucina

•     Church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus