The Marturdom of St. Lawrence, by Valentin de Buologne, 1621-22
St Lawrence, a deacon of the Church of Rome, who was born in Spain, died a martyr in Rome in AD 258. St. Lawrence is one of the most venerated saints in the church's glorious history. Pope Sixtus II ordained Lawrence (a.k.a. Lorenzo) a deacon. Lawrence was martyred shortly after Sixtus, his bishop. When the pope was arrested Tradition has it that he told Lawrence to give the Church's treasures, for which he was responsible, away to the poor. When he was noticed by the Roman authorities for doing this, the Roman prefect ordered Lawrence to turn over the Church's treasures to him. So, Lawrence, pointing to the poor and sick around him, said, "Here are the treasures of the Church." As a result, he was condemned to death by being burnt on a gridiron. He endured this torture in good spirits, allegedly saying at one point, "See, I am done enough on one side, now turn me over and cook the other."
St. Lawerence, deacon and martyr, pray for us.