Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of St Sixtus II killed during the persecution of Valerian. On his arrest, when he was ordered to hand over the riches of the Church, he pointed to a crowd of poor people, saying, ‘Here are the true treasures of the Church.’ He was roasted to death on a gridiron four days after the martyrdom of Pope Sixtus II in 258. His tomb is located in the field of Verano near the Via Tiburtina where subsequently Constantine the Great built a basilica. Devotion to Lawrence was widespread by the fourth century. – CTS New Daily Roman Missal 2012, p 2899; Christian Prayer 1990, p 1195-96
