Another St. Lawrence

There are several churches in Rome dedicated to St. Lawrence. You might remember an earlier post on the church of St. Lawrence in Panisperna - the place where he was put to death.

Today's Station Church - the church of St. Lawrence in Lucina, is the resting place of the grill upon which St. Lawrence is said to have been martyred (burned alive, as you may recall). This church looks much younger than the church on Via Panisperna, but in fact it is just as old. It was destroyed in the year 1084 and rebuilt shortly thereafter. It was "modernized" in the 17th century.

There is a beautiful painting of the Crucifixion above the main altar. It is the work of the Italian master Guido Reni. As you can see below, he really was a master! Also pictured is the urn containing the grill of St. Lawrence's martyrdom.

I'm not sure if I'll make it to tomorrow's Station Church, which is Santa Susanna. It's the American parish in Rome. It would be nice to be there, having served there as a deacon during my fourth year in Rome.

Tomorrow evening there is a concert at the Auditorium. Martha Argerich (a well-known Argentinian pianist) will play Ravel's G-Major Concerto (of which Argerich is one of the world's foremost interpreters), and her student Nelson Goerner will play Beethoven's Concerto no. 4. The evening will conclude with Tchaikovsky's Symphony no. 4.

Sunday, the bishop of Venice, Florida, will be with us for Mass at which the seminarians in second year will be instituted acolytes. That should be a nice celebration. Then I'll meet up with my Italian pen pal, who will be in Rome, and maybe even get a bit of rest Sunday afternoon!