Saint of the Day: Bl. Laurence “Loricatus”

Monk (ca. 1190-1243)

His life

+ Laurence was born in Apulio, Italy, and served as a solider as a young man. 

+ After accidentally killing a man, he was so overcome with remorse that he dedicated himself to a life of penance. After traveling as a pilgrim to the great shrine of Saint James in Compostella, he became a monk in the monastery founded by Saint Benedict at Subiaco, Italy.

+ Laurence lived as a hermit for 34 years in the ruins of the cave where Saint Benedict himself had lived. When pilgrims would leave gifts and offerings for him, he would give these to the poor.

+ A spiritual master, he began to train a small community of spiritual students and later wrote a book of prayers.

+ Known as Loricatus because of the coat of chain mail he worn beneath his clothing as an act of penance, he died in 1243. Pope Pius VI confirmed devotion to Blessed Laurence in 1778.

For prayer and reflection

“Blessed are those who dwell in your house! / They never cease to praise you.”—Psalm 84:5

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also celebrate the memory of Saint Stephen of Hungary. As king, Stephen united the Magyar peoples of Hungary into a single nation and was crowned king of Christmas Day 1001. Remembered for organizing dioceses and establishing monasteries, he and his wife, Blessed Gisella of Ungarn, also had a son, Emeric, who succeeded his father and who is also numbered among the saints. Saint Stephen died in 1038 and was canonized in 1083. He is honored as the patron saint of Hungary. 

Prayer

O God, who in your kindness called your servant blessed Laurence to the following of Christ, grant, we pray, through his intercession, that, denying ourselves, we may hold fast to you with all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. 

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For a Monk)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S.