Having visited last week the church of St. Lawrence in Panisperna - where he was martyred, today's station church takes us outside the walls of the old city of Rome to the place where, following his harrowing death by being burned to death, the grieving Christian community brought his charred remains for internment. This was a very different looking place back then - a catacomb had been dug into the hill that was once here - and so it was in this catacomb that St. Lawrence was buried.
Once Christianity was legal, the popularity of St. Lawrence led to a basilica being built here either by Constantine himself, or by one of his sons. At first the basilica, like St. Peter's, was more a covered cemetery than a structure build for worship - though it soon come to be used for Divine Worship. The stream of pilgrims who came to venerate the beloved martyr-deacon of Rome led to the building of another basilica - next door to the first, with most of the construction taking place under Pope Pelagius II (r. 579-590). Although it is smaller that the previous basilica, it provided a more fitting setting for the shrine around the great saint's tomb. Pope Pelagius also brought the relics of St. Stephen, the first martyr, to this church and put them in the tomb where the relics of St. Lawrence were already kept. There is a legend that when the body of the protomartyr (Stephen) was brought here, the body of St. Lawrence moved to the side to make room for him in the tomb. Gradually the newer basilica became the primary one on the site, the older one being rededicated to the Blessed Virgin soon hereafter. Shortly after this it disappears from record, falling prey either to fire or to neglect.
The early medieval period saw a renewal of the complex. Around 1200 a wall was constructed around the basilica and its connected buildings, the resulting small city being called Laurentiopolis. The apse of the basilica itself was removed and a large addition was built by Pope Honorius III (r. 1216-1227), which in effect re-oriented the church so that the previous façade was now the back wall. The decoration of the church according to the style of the time followed, of which significant portions remain. Decoration was complete by 1254 with the addition of the screen at the back of the sanctuary, which possibly had previously been part of the chancel screen or schola. During this period the basilica had an important ceremonial function as well. The misdirected Fourth Crusade had taken Constantinople in 1204 and set up a Latin Empire there. While the pope was furious, in time the new emperors petitioned the pope for coronation. The site of this ceremony was set to take place here. With the Holy Roman Emperors traditionally crowned at St. Peter’s across town, the Cathedral of the Lateran would be in the center, symbolizing the pope as the center and highest authority of Christendom. While one coronation took place here in 1217, the Eastern Empire collapsed soon thereafter.
Various repairs were carried out throughout the Renaissance period, and this church like many was redecorated in this time. A first renovation took place from 1492 to 1503, followed by additional ones in 1619 and 1624. Finally, a decade-long restoration beginning in 1855 restored the basilica to the appearance it would have had in the thirteenth century. The last remains of the original hill were cleared away at this time, and soon after that the Campo Verano Cemetery was laid out behind the basilica. Several of these restorations took place under Pope Bl. Pius IX, later buried here at his death in 1878. World War II would leave its mark on the basilica, when it became the only major Roman church to be damaged. A bomb intended for the nearby rail yard missed and struck the front of the basilica, largely destroying it. Soon after this, Pope Pius XII visited the area to comfort the local populace. In remembrance of this, a statue of the pontiff stands in the square before the church. Rebuilding after the war returned the church to its previous state by 1950, and since then it has continued to stand as a visible reminder of the sacrifice of St. Lawrence.
Inside the church there are mosaics (from the medieval period) that depict the story of the apparitions of Sts. Lawrence and Stephen to a monk living here. other tell the story of St. Stephen and the journey of his relics to Rome, another depict the martyrdoms of both saints. Another fresco, the only one to survive the bombing of the church in 1943, depicts the ordination of St. Stephen and the other early deacons.
Under the main altar is the confessio. Here, in a small chapel, is the tomb of Sts. Stephen the Protomartyr, Lawrence, and Justin the Presbyter. It's a good moment to recall the supreme sacrifice of these martyrs, united in their witness for the faith in Christ.
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