Lenten Station Church
Wednesday Within the Octave of Easter
St. Lawrence Outside the Walls
(San Lorenzo fuori le mura)

We return to the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls on this Wednesday Within the Octave of Easter, our final tour of this basilica during this year's Lenten Calendar. Our earlier visit transpired on the Third Sunday in Lent. At that time, we reviewed the history and the background of St Lawrence Outside the Walls and St Lawrence himself. Today we will review more recent information about the basilica. The Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls, so-called because of its location outside the old city walls, is one of the great churches of Rome. Although overshadowed by St Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican, as well as by St Paul Outside the Walls and St John in Lateran, it is nevertheless a beloved and popular pilgrimage destination. Aside from its antiquity, it is home to the tomb of Lawrence, one of the oldest Catholic saints, as well as possibly the tomb of St Stephen. St Lawrence’s is one of the seven ancient pilgrimage churches of Rome and one of five Patriarchal Basilicas. The Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls is part of the Vatican City UNESCO World Heritage Site. What is a UNESCO World Heritage Site? In 1972, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) adopted an international treaty called the World Heritage Convention. This was an effort to encourage the nations of the world to come together to identify and commit to protect their most precious sites of natural and cultural importance. UNESCO states sites such as, the Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls, that are placed on the World Heritage list 'belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.' The Basilica suffered a great deal of damage during the Second World War when its façade was destroyed by the allied bombing of Rome on the July 19,1943. It also witnessed the devastating outcome of that attack where many Romans were killed, their homes destroyed, and even the remains of the dead in the nearby Campo Verano Cemetery were blown out of their tombs. Pope Pius XII himself rushed to the area to tend to the dying and injured and to distribute aid. The façade was rebuilt after the war, but the ancient frescos which had decorated it were beyond repair or preservation and were lost. On your next (or first) visit to Rome, be sure to include on your agenda, a tour of St Lawrence Outside the Walls. You are sure to discover fantastic aspects of this historic basilica. Reference: 'Basilica of St Lawrence Outside the Walls' on TheCompletePilgrim.com 'World Heritage List - Criteria for Selection' on Whc.Unesco.org Photograph is from Commons.WikiMedia.org St Lawrence Basilica 128 (1949) Pope Sixtus II Confers Deaconate on St Lawrence 195 (1955) Art Masterpieces by Beato Angelico - Consecration of St Lawrence 1241 (2003) Art Masterpieces by Beato Angelico - Stoning of St Stephen 1244 (2003) Roman Basilicas - Pope Pius XII 131 (1949) Popes & Basilicas - Pope Pius XII 159 (1953) Brussels World Expo - Pope Pius XII 242 (1958) Jubilee Popes 1750-2000 - Pope Pius XII 1147 (2000)