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Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le mura (Tomb of St. Lawrence)

Saints & Tombs Not Applicable
Rome, Italy 4th century Feast day: August 10

The burial place of St. Lawrence.

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The Story

The Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le mura (St. Lawrence Outside the Walls) rises on the Via Tiburtina in Rome, beside the Campo Verano cemetery. It shelters the tomb of St. Lawrence, the deacon of Rome martyred in 258 during the persecution of the emperor Valerian and buried in the nearby cemetery of Cyriaca. According to the traditional account, Lawrence was charged with the Church's goods and its care for the poor. When ordered to hand over the Church's treasures, he presented the poor of Rome, declaring them the true treasure of the Church, and was put to death for his faith. His witness made him one of the most beloved martyrs of the early Church, honored in the Roman Canon of the Mass. A shrine rose over his tomb in the age of Constantine in the 4th century. Pope Pelagius II rebuilt it in the 6th century, and Pope Honorius III enlarged it in the 13th, joining two churches into the basilica seen today. The basilica also preserves relics honored as those of St. Stephen, the first martyr, and the tomb of Blessed Pope Pius IX. Badly damaged by bombing in 1943, it was faithfully restored after the Second World War. As one of the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome, San Lorenzo has drawn pilgrims for centuries. The faithful still descend to pray near the martyr's tomb beneath the high altar, continuing a devotion that reaches back to Christian antiquity.

Church Recognition

San Lorenzo fuori le mura is a papal minor basilica and one of the traditional Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome; St. Lawrence has been venerated since the 3rd century and is commemorated in the Roman Canon of the Mass.

Catholic Teaching

The tomb of St. Lawrence speaks to the Church's teaching on martyrdom as the supreme witness to the faith (CCC 2473) and on the veneration of the martyrs' relics (CCC 1674), while his care for the poor embodies the Church's love for the least of Christ's brethren.

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Practical

Additional Information

Pilgrims venerate the tomb of St. Lawrence beneath the high altar, along with relics honored as those of St. Stephen, and visit the tomb of Blessed Pius IX. The basilica is a station on the traditional Seven Churches pilgrimage walk, and devotion peaks around the feast of St. Lawrence on August 10.

Go Deeper

The basilica's official website is https://www.basilicasanlorenzofuorilemura.it. Early accounts of St. Lawrence appear in St. Ambrose's On the Duties of the Clergy and in the hymns of Prudentius; see also CCC 2473 on martyrdom.

Location

Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →

In the Area

Other sacred sites within 40 miles.