Saint Lawrence the Illuminator

Also known as: Lawrence of Spoleto
Memorial: 3 February
Profile: Fled from Syria with 300 Catholic companions to Italy due to Monophysite persecution of Severus in 514. Ordained in Rome. Preacher in Umbria. Founded a monastery at Spoleto. Bishop of Spoleto for 20 years. When he arrived to assume his see the people rejected him as a foreigner, but the city gates miraculously opened on their own to let him in, and the people realized that God wanted him there. Resigned to found the abbey of Farfa in the Sabine hills near Rome. Renowned peacemaker, had the gift of healing blindness, both physical and spiritual, which led to the title Illuminator.
Born: Syrian
Died: 576 at Farfa monastery of natural causes
Patronage: against blindness
blind people
Translate: español | français | deutsch | italiano | português