A small church in downtown Rome marks the site of the martyrdom of one of Rome’s beloved patron saints, Saint Lawrence. Saint Lorenzo in Panisperna is today’s Lent Station Church of Rome.
In the year 258 the Roman Emperor Valerian led a persecution of Christian leaders putting to death Pope Sixtus II along with his seven deacon assistants, Saint Lawrence among them. As deacon he was in charge of the temporal goods of the Church and oversaw the care for the poor and needy in one of Rome’s quarters.
Lawrence is one of the patron saints of Rome and has been a popular saint throughout the centuries. Many stories have survived about his martyrdom. It is said that Roman authorities commanded Lawrence to surrender all the treasures of the Church in three days. Lawrence gathered all the sick, poor and old of the community and took them to the authorities saying “here are the treasures of the Church.” Enraged, the Roman prefect ordered Lawrence to be burnt alive on a gridiron. It is said that as he lay on it, he told his executioner, “turn me over, I’m done on this side.”
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