Lawrence I ( la, Laurentius, it, Lorenzo) was

Archbishop of Milan The Archdiocese of Milan ( it, Arcidiocesi di Milano; la, Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has lon ...

from 490 to c. 511. He is honoured as a saint in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and his feast day is July 25.

Life

San Sisto, cappella di San Lorenzo Maggiore

Most of the information we have about this bishop are due to the writings of Ennodius, bishop of

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

(died 521), who was a relative of his and his secretary. Lawrence was elected bishop of Milan in about 490 (or 489) by both the Latins and the

Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several " Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking ...

, who invaded Italy led by Odoacer. In the frame of the war between Odoacer and

Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...

, leader of the

Ostrogoths The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...

, Lawrence supported the latter, hoping that Theodoric could better preserve the Latin population, militarily overpowered by the invasions of the East Germanic tribes. However Lawrence did not directly intervened in the fight. Later he went to

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

to plead Theodoric to forgive the Latins who had sided with Odoacrer. In a year between 491 and 493, an East Germanic tribe, probably the

Rugii The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians ( grc, Ρογοί, Rogoi), were a Roman-era Germanic people. They were first clearly recorded by Tacitus, in his '' Germania'' who called them the ''Rugii'', and located them near the south shore of the Baltic Sea. So ...

, raided

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and devastated the town: also Lawrence was made prisoner. After this raid, Lawrence led the reconstruction of the town, and he renovated the Basilica of Saint Calimerius, the ''Basilica Sanctorum'' (not surely identified), a

baptistery In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...

(possibly ''San Giovanni alle Fonti'') and the Church of Saint Nazarius and Celsus where he ordered to paint the figures of twelve bishops of Milan. He also built a house, probably as residence for the bishops, and added the chapel of Saint Sixtus to the basilica of St. Lorenzo Maggiore. He further restored the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio where he built the Ciborium which columns are still visible. Lawrence took a stand in favor of the legitimacy of the election of

Pope Symmachus Pope Symmachus (died 19 July 514) was the bishop of Rome from 22 November 498 to his death. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by a majority of the Roman clergy. Early life He was born on the Mediterranean islan ...

against the claims of the

Antipope Laurentius Laurentius (possibly Caelius) was the Archpriest of Santa Prassede and later antipope of the See of Rome. Elected in 498 at the Basilica Saint Mariae (presumably Saint Maria Maggiore) with the support of a dissenting faction with Byzantine sympat ...

, the latter supported by the Miaphysite

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

and near to Monophysite positions. Lawrence gave financial support to Symmachus, and in 502 he, along with Peter bishop of Ravenna, presided over a synod in Rome which confirmed Symmachus' right to the papacy. He participated also to the consecration of the ''Basilica Apostolorum'' in

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

. Lawrence died after 22 years of episcopate, so in c. 511 AD, on the 25 July. His remains were interred on the 27 July in the chapel of Saint Hyppolytus aside the city’s basilica of St. Lorenzo Maggiore. His

feast A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

is celebrated on July 25 in such basilica and together all the saint bishops of Milan on 25 September. A late tradition, with no historical basis, associates Lawrence with the family of the Litta.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence I Of Milan, Archbishop Archbishops of Milan 510s deaths 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown