On this day 1751 years ago, Lawrence of Rome is said to have been martyred, according to tradition. Lawrence was one of a number of Christians executed on the orders of the Roman emperor in 258AD, and as he was being roasted to death on a gridiron he is reported to have said, “This side is cooked, turn me over and start eating.” His death occurred just one year after he was appointed as a deacon and placed in charge of the administration of church goods and care for the poor.
Hence Lawrence is known as the patron saint of comedians as well as of librarians. According to tradition, one of the items of church goods which was entrusted to Lawrence was the cup from which Jesus and his disciples drank at the Last Supper. It is said that Lawrence managed to send the cup to his parents in Huesca, Spain, before he was arrested, and that the cup was subsequently preserved by monks until in 1436 it was given to the Cathedral of Valencia, where it now resides.
Shortly before his death, Lawrence is said to have been ordered by the prefect of Rome to hand over the riches of the church. Lawrence asked for three days to gather the wealth, and during those three days distributed as much church property as possible to the poor. On the third day he reported to the prefect and presented a number of poor, blind and disabled people, saying that these were the true treasures of the church.