Jun 122012
Profile
Raised to be a soldier, but when he accidentally killed a man Laurence was so overcome with remorse that he put his aside his arms and made a pilgrimage of penance to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. Benedictine monk at Subiaco, Italy. Lived 34 years as a hermit in the ruins of a mountain monastery founded by Saint Benedict. Known for this austerity; if visitors left offerings, he gave them to the poor. His reputation for holiness attracted a small community of would-be spiritual students. The title loricatus because he wore a coat of chain mail next to his skin as an act of penance; the future Pope Gregory IX finally persuaded him to give it up. Wrote a book of prayers that has survived.
Born
- 1243 at Subiaco, Italy
- relics, including an orginal manuscript of his prayer book and his armor breastplate, enshrined at Saint Benedict’s Cave at Subiaco
- 1778 by Pope Pius VI (cultus confirmed)
Additional Information
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Katherine Rabenstein
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
MLA Citation