August 10
Saints of the Day
 

Saint Lawrence Martyr, d. 258
From Huesca, Aragon, Spain, Deacon of Rome, "keeper of the treasures of the church", martyred on a grill

    Third-century archdeacon of Rome and "keeper of the treasures of the church" in a time when Christianity was outlawed. On 6 August 258, by decree of Emperor Valerian, Pope Saint Sixtus II and six deacons were beheaded, leaving Lawrence as the ranking Church official in Rome.

     Martyrdom:
    On 10 August Lawrence was commanded to appear for his execution, and to bring along the treasure with which he had been entrusted by the pope. When he arrived, the archdeacon was accompanied by a multitude of Rome's crippled, blind, sick, and indigent. He announced that these were the true treasures of the Church.
    He had a great gridiron prepared, with coals beneath it, and had Lawrence’s body placed on it. After the martyr had suffered the pain for a long time, the legend concludes, he made his famous cheerful remark, “It is well done. Turn it over and eat it!”
    The church built over Lawrence’s tomb became one of the seven principal churches in Rome and a favorite place for Roman pilgrimages.