The busy Corso Vittorio Emanuele II helps to recreate
some of the bustle that must have been present in this area when this location
held the stables of one of the chariot teams in ancient Rome. In time,
these gave way to residential dwellings, one of which was the home of Pope St.
Damasus. This holy man, famous for the epigraphs composed by him for the
tombs of the various saints around Rome, converted the hall in his home into a
church in honor of St. Lawrence. His devotion to the saint may have begun
during his years of service at the Basilica of St. Lawrence outside-the-Walls
before his election to the papacy in 366. While he spent much of his energy in
supporting orthodox teaching against the attacks of the Arians, he also strove
to adorn the shrines of the martyrs in this city, even writing verses in honor
of the saints himself. He passed away in 384. (From: Procedamus in Pacem, PNAC).
May the venerable exercises of holy devotion
shape the
hearts of your faithful, O Lord,
to welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery
and
proclaim the praises of your salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your
Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God,
for ever and ever.
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