Day 9 - Thursday - 1st Week of Lent - St Lawrence in Panisperna

Sixtus II, the Bishop of Rome and Pope from 257 to 258, was martyred during the persecution of the Roman Emperor Valerian, who in 258, issued an edict commanding that all Catholic bishops, priests, and deacons in Rome should be put death, giving the Imperial treasury power to confiscate all money and possessions of the Christians. (This is the Sixtus who is named in the Roman Canon of the Mass.)

Sixtus had come to Rome from Spain where he had been a renowned teacher of theology, and the mentor of a young theology student, Lawrence. Lawrence had been born in Huesca, Spain in 225, and while still a young man, had travelled to Zaragoza where he met Sixtus. Eventually, when Sixtus made the decision to go to Rome, Lawrence, who was quite attached to his mentor, went with him.

In 257, when Sixtus was made Bishop of Rome, he ordained Lawrence as a deacon. The city of Rome had been divided into seven districts, and for each district a deacon was ordained. Even though Lawrence was still young, Sixtus appointed him first of the seven deacons, giving him the title of Arch-deacon of Rome. This was a position of great trust, because it placed him in charge of the treasury of the Church, and distribution of alms to the poor. Wealthy people who converted to the faith often gave much of their wealth to the Church upon conversion, for distribution to the poor. Lawrence took his new position with great gravity, determined to vindicate Pope Sixtus' judgment.

Sixtus II Ordains Lawrence as a Deacon by Fra Angelico

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASt._Peter_Niccoline_Chapel.jpg Fra Angelico (circa 1395–1455) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

St.Lawrence Receiving the Treasures of the Church

by Fra Angelico

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASan_Lorenzo_(Beato_Angelico).jpgBy Arpingstone at en.wikipedia [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

The edict of Valerius came into effect the next year, in 258, and one day when Pope Sixtus was celebrating Mass at the tombs of the martyrs in the catacombs of St Callixtus with his seven deacons, he became one of the first victims of this persecution.

Imperial soldiers tracked him to the catacombs and beheaded him on 6 August, along with six of his deacons. Only Lawrence was not taken. Valerius had something else in mind for Lawrence. When Lawrence saw that he was not to suffer martyrdom with his beloved mentor, he cried out in dismay. Pope Sixtus comforted him by saying, "My son, you will follow me in three days."

Deacon Lawrence before the Emperor Valerianus

by Fra Angelico

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALawrence-before-Valerianus.jpgFra Angelico [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The prefect of the city dragged Lawrence before Valerian. Since Lawrence was the Archdeacon of Rome (one of the duties of the archdeacon was to be the treasurer of the Church at Rome), Valerian demanded that Lawrence give up the treasury of the Church to the imperial officers. Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth. The three days were granted.

Not a moment was to be lost. Quickly Lawrence gathered up the property of the Church and began a dispersal to the poor. He worked with volunteers from the other districts of Rome, since their deacons had all been martyred with Pope Sixtus. It was a monumental effort, but by the third day, most of the valuables had been given away, or sold and the money dispersed. Then Lawrence began gathering the poor, the lame, the blind, the beggars, and readied himself for the emperor's call.

Soon Lawrence again found himself hauled before the emperor, who demanded that the treasure of the Church be relinquished. Lawrence turned and instructed his friends to lead in the crowd who had followed him. He turned to Valerian and said, "The Church is far richer than any emperor, here are the true treasures of the Church!" while the lame, the blind, and the poor poured in off the streets.

The emperor was not amused . . . . . (to be continued on the Third Sunday of Lent at St Lawrence Outside the Walls) - St Lawrence has 3 more stations, you can't expect him to tell his whole story all at once!

Pilgrimage:

The Church of St. Lawrence in Panisperna, is relatively small, recessed from the street, and not always open. One could walk right by and not even realize it was there. And that would be too bad, because it is lovely. It is a titular church from the 16th century, but built on earlier foundations, and is constructed on the traditional site of St Lawrence's martyrdom.

St Lawrence in Panisperna - entrance to the front courtyard

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFronton_%C3%A9glise_San_Lorenzo_in_Panisperna.JPG

St Lawrence in Panisperna - facade

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEglise_San_Lorenzo_in_Panisperna.JPG By LPLT (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

The ancient front doors

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APorte_San_Lorenzo_in_Panisperna.JPG

Triumphal Arch, High Altar, and Altarwall of St Lawrence in Panisperna - Martyrdom of St Lawrence

photo by Yvonne Cummins, used by permission

St Lawrence in Panisperna - high altar and altar piece by Pasquale Cati

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMartyre_de_Saint-Laurent_par_Pasquale_Cati_di_Jesi.JPG By Pasquale Cati (Own work, LPLT, 2010-03-24) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Detail of the ceiling in the apse

Photo by Yvonne Cummins, used by permission

Ceiling detail- St Lawrence received into Glory

Photo by Yvonne Cummins, used by permission

Chapel of St Bridget of Sweden

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ASanLorenzoinPanisperna.jpg

No one really knows exactly what to make of the word panisperna. If you break the word into the 2 obvious words, you have panis - bread, and perna - ham. All sorts of stories have arisen about St Lawrence as a deacon handing out food to the poor here, or the Poor Clares, an order of Franciscan sisters who later operated the convent adjacent to the church - maybe they gave out ham sandwiches to the poor on St Lawrence's feast day. The street, Via Panisperna, that runs by is named after the Church and not the church after the street, so that is no help either. In the end, no one really knows anything for sure about the name Panisperna and where it came from.

What we do know though, is that the church is built over the traditional site of the martyrdom of St Lawrence. If you go up the stairs on the right at the front of the church, and through the door, and down more stairs, and then turn left under the back of the building, you will come to the shrine that commemorates the place of his martyrdom. It is quiet, everything is still. It is a good place to visit with St Lawrence.

Images of the shrine of St Lawrence's martyrdom by Yvonne Cummins.

Used by permission

More than any other saint, St Lawrence has captured the hearts and minds of the Romans throughout the centuries. He is their third patron, after St Peter and St Paul. He is not at all opposed to taking on temporary Romans, to be their patrons as well.! And when you leave Rome, you will find that you will leave a little bit of yourself here anyway. Dear St Lawrence, and St Sixtus, pray for us pilgrims that we will be as steadfast and uncompromising in upholding Truth and Justice in our century as you were in the 3rd century. We too face many challenges, and may well be called to martyrdom, as have so many of our brothers and sisters across the world in our time. Stand by us, and help us to be faithful.

The collect church for St Lawrence in Panisperna is Sant' Agata dei Goti (St Agatha of the Goths). It is the only one of the Arian churches in Rome which was reconsecrated and is still in use as a Catholic church today.

Tomorrow we will visit a magnificent church. It is time for the station at the Twelve Holy Apostles. We will be in the presence of the relics of the apostles, St James the Less, and St Phillip. Their lives were radically transformed by encountering Jesus Christ. Pray that on the morrow, in this awesome place, and in the presence of these holy relics, that we will also experience a radical conversion to Our Lord.

Optional Activities, podcast, and videos

LENTCAzT 2017 09 Thursday in the 1st Week of Lent

Google Sites

Report abuse