From Venite Prandete

Tradition tells us that amongst the treasures of the Church entrusted to St. Lawrence was the Holy Grail, the chalice used by Our Lord at the Last Supper.

Valencia’s sacred chalice

To protect this precious relic from the prefect of Rome, St. Lawrence entrusted it to a friend, the Spanish soldier Proselius, whom he knew would travel back to Huesca and asked him to give it to his parents for safe keeping.

In turn, St. Lawrence’s family sent the Holy Chalice to the monastery of San Juan de la Peña (north of Huesca) for preservation and veneration. In 1399, the relic was handed over to the King of Aragon, Martin “The Human” who kept it in the Royal Palace of Zaragoza and then in the Royal Palace of Barcelona in 1410 when he died.

Towards 1424, his successor King Alfonso the Magnanimous kept it in the Valencia Palace. Because of his stay in Naples, it was given with the rest of the royal relics to the Valencia Cathedral in 1437.

Since the 15th century, the Holy Grail has been kept and venerated in the Cathedral of Valencia and it was carried during the procession of Holy Thursday up to the 18th century. During the Napoleonic Wars, between 1809 and 1813, the chalice was taken to Alicante, Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca, escaping from Napoleonic invaders. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), it was hidden in the city of Carlet, south of Valencia.

Today, traditions tell us the Holy Grail is located and venerated in a special chapel in the cathedral of Valencia in Spain.’

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ST LAWRENCE

FEAST DAY 10th AUGUST

The authors of The Bad Catholics Guide to Good Living (1) tell us, of St Lawrence:

“This early Church administrator is known both for his courage and his snarky sense of humour. When the increasingly intolerant Roman government demanded that Lawrence collect all the supposed wealth of the persecuted underground Church, St Lawrence distributed all the wealth to the poor, then gathered the widows, orphans, beggars, cripples and lepers who lived on Catholic charity and presented them to the emperor saying: “Here are the treasures of the Church.”

Charmed by his wit, Valerian condemned Lawrence to be slowly, agonisingly burned to death over a grill.

As the Roman guards stoked the fires, Lawrence displayed the power of grace, and his irresistible comic timing, by telling the Romans: “I am done on this side, you may turn me over.”

Infuriated, they did just that (neglecting to baste).

As he breathed his last, Lawrence whispered: “I am done, now you may eat.”

The history above is recorded by St Ambrose – St Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of Rome under Pope Sixtus II, who was also martyred a few days prior to the martyrdom of St Lawrence. Both of these illustrious names form part of the Invocation of the Saints in the Canon of the Mass as Martyrs of the early Church, now in heaven, together with the other six deacons and Pope St. Sixtus II who had preceded him in martyrdom.

Several senators who were present at his death were so powerfully moved by his heroic fortitude and piety that they became Christians on the spot.

These noblemen took the martyr’s body and gave it an honorable burial in the Veran field, near the road to Tivoli, on the 10th of August, 258.

Within 50 years of his martyrdom, the Christian Emperor Constantine had a patriarchal church built over his tomb, the site now known as the Basilica of St. Lawrence-Outside-the-Walls, (San Lorenzo Fuori Le Mura), where his relics can be venerated today.

The Catholic Church has declared him to be the Patron Saint of chefs, and his feast day is traditionally celebrated by a grill or a barbecue.

(1) John Zmirak & Denise Matychowiak, Crossroad, New York, (2005), at p. 119.