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Lenten Station Church: San Lorenzo in Panisperna

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Mountain Butorac

in

We continue our Lenten pilgrimage through the station churches of Rome with a visit to the church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna. The church is located over the site of Saint Lawrence's martyrdom, just a few blocks from yesterday's church, Saint Mary Major. Originally built during the time of Constantine, today's structure only dates back to 1575.

In 258, during the Valerian persecutions, many Christians were put to death. One such Christian was Pope Sixtus II. A story told by St. Ambrose states that on the way to his execution, the pope passed his deacon, Lawrence. Lawrence questioned the Holy Father as to why he would abandon him during this time. Why would he die for his faith without bringing Lawrence with him. The pope replied saying that Lawrence would join him in death in three days.

Lawrence, who was in charge of the Church's material possessions, set off to distribute all the riches to the poor. Three days after his encounter with Pope Sixtus II, the prefect of Rome sent for Lawrence and demanded he turn over all the treasures of the Church. Lawrence did as he was told and brought with him the poor, the blind, the crippled and the suffering and said that these were the true treasures of the Church.

He was immediately sent to his death by being burned alive on an iron grill. In keeping with his sense of humor, he told the executioner that he was already roasted on one side and that he needed to be turned over. The oven in which he was martyred is kept in this church.

Saint Bridget of Sweden spent time at this church begging for the poor. When she died she was first buried here before she was moved to Sweden. The church also holds the crucifix which spoke to her and relics from Saints Lawrence, Crispin and Crispinian.

Tomorrow we travel to Santi Apostoli to visit the tombs of two apostles.

Comments

  1. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Am wondering where the writer is getting this information.  The crucifix which miraculously spoke to Saint Bridget is actually in a side chapel at Saint Paul Outside the Walls.  It was not moved there any time recently, either. 

  2. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Hi Clare, it's not often that I encounter someone with my name!  Thank you for differentiating.  Actually, my son's future godparents had a baby last August, and they named her Clare without the i.

  3. Guest Avatar
    Guest

    Clare,

    Different crucifix.

    I see now that perhaps I should have worded the sentence to say "a crucifix which spoke to her…" or maybe even "the crucifix which spoke to her while she was praying here…".
    You are correct that there is a crucifix which spoke, many say nodded, to Saint Bridget located in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Saint Paul Outside the Walls. The event took place when she was there in 1370.

    We know that she had many visions of Christ, one is said to have happened inside San Lorenzo in Panisperna while she was praying at the altar rail.

    Two resources which specifically state there is a crucifix here that spoke to Saint Bridget are:

    The Pontifical North American College in Rome, one of our seminaries, compiled a guide to the Station Churches in 1978, it's been updated several times and is now available on their website (http://www.pnac.org/).

    The book, A Catholic's Guide to Rome, written by Frank J. Korn. The book easy to find in many bookstores. It's an excellent guide to Catholic Rome.

    I also rely on information I've gathered leading tours throughout Italy over the last several years. I always question the sacristans or priests on hand when I do research for my tours and often times even employ local guides to show me around their city. I've heard the story of this crucifix several times and believe it to be true.

    I hope this helps clear up any confusion.

    Thank you for reading,

    Mountain

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