St. Lawrence is one of the most venerated saints among the Christian martyrs, and his manner of death has inspired cooks to ask for his prayers.

He was one of seven deacons that served the Church in Rome—his role was to manage the material goods of the Christian community, and to distribute financial support to the poor. In 257, the emperor ordered the suppression and persecution of Christians. The pope was arrested and killed, and Lawrence followed him four days later. This is all we know for certain of this saint’s life.

Other details have been filled in by the faithful. St. Ambrose and others have offered more details to his life, but it is unclear if these are embellishments or fact. The most prominent of these stories involves Lawrence’s clever retort to a greedy Roman official.

The official imagined that the Church held great wealth, and wanted to seize anything of value, such as the precious metals used in sacred vessels and candlesticks. He ordered Lawrence to hand all of these things over.

Lawrence replied to him, “The Church is indeed rich—the emperor has no treasure equal to what it possesses.” He asked for a few days to take an inventory and to set everything in order.

Then Lawrence went through Rome, seeking all of the poor people who were supported by the Church. On the appointed day, he lined them up—people who were disabled and blind and sick with leprosy, as well as widows and orphans. Then he invited the official to come and meet him.

When the official arrived and saw this collection of suffering people, he asked Lawrence what this meant. Lawrence replied, “What are you displeased at? These are the treasures of the Church.”

The official was infuriated and threatened to kill Lawrence slowly. He ordered a gridiron prepared over a bed of hot coals, and had Lawrence roasted upon it. St. Ambrose tells us that while Lawrence’s body was subject to fire, his spirit was set aflame with divine love. In fact, it is said that after roasting on one side, Lawrence said to his executioner, “Let my body be turned; this side is broiled enough.”

Lawrence is certainly one of the most venerated martyrs of the early Church, and is included in one of the Eucharistic prayers in the Mass. With an ironic nod, he is patron saint against the threat of fire, and of those who prepare food. His relics rest in the Basilica, and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art holds this sketch of his martyrdom by Luigi Gregori. The image at top is a detail from a fresco by Blessed Fra Angelico and depicts Lawrence distributing alms to the poor.

St. Lawrence, courageous martyr and patron of chefs and cooks, pray for us!

Image credit:

Luigi Gregori (Italian, 1819-1896), The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, n.d., graphite, ink, and wash on laid paper. Raclin Murphy Museum of Art: Gift of Luigi Gregori, AA1972.031.094.