St Lawrence was born in AD225, here in Spain, in Huesca in the province of Aragon. And one day, in Zaragoza, he met the man who, years later, would become Pope Sixtus II.

Now Rome in the 3rd century, was experiencing a terrible persecution of Christians, and the pagan Emperor ruled that all the church’s money, and possessions, should be handed over to the Roman state. And by this time Sixtus was Pope, and he had given Lawrence the responsibility of looking after all the Church’s property. And knowing, and fearing, he´d shortly be summoned by the Emperor, Lawrence went out and sold all that the church had, and gave the money to the poor, to widows and to the sick.

And the day came when he was hauled before the Emperor and asked to hand over the Church´s treasure. And Lawrence threw open the palace gates and in came whole crowds of poor, crippled, blind, and suffering people. “These are the true treasures of the Church”, replied St Lawrence. Needless to say, the persecutors didn`t deal kindly with him.

And yet, within 60 years of his death, the Emperor and all the official ceremonies of the Roman Empire, had become Christian. As a result, Lawrence is especially honoured in the city of Rome, of which he is considered the third patron, after St. Peter and St. Paul, and the church built over his tomb, the Papal Minor Basilica di San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, became one of the seven principal churches of Rome and a favourite place of pilgrimage.

Because the Perseid Meteor Shower typically occurs annually in mid-August on or proximate to his feast day, it is referred to here in Spain as Las Lágrimas de San Lorenzo (the tears of St Lawrence). He is the patron saint of librarians, archivists, comedians, cooks and tanners.

Picture above: Extract from the Martyrdom of St Lawrence, by Jean Baptiste de Champaigne, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons