Laurence the Deacon was martyred at Rome during a persecution initiated in 257 by the Emperor Valerian, aimed primarily at clergy and laity of the upper classes. Both of his parents, Orencio and Patientia, had been martyred earlier, but he had been spared in the first wave of persecution, and was subsequently ordained to the diaconate.

On August 4th, 258, Pope Sixtus II and his seven deacons were apprehended in the Roman catacombs and summaril…