Saint Lawrence Justinian

First Patriarch of Venice (1381-1455)

Feast – September 5

St. Lawrence, descendant of the noble house of Giustiniani, greatly famed at Genoa, Venice and Naples, and a family which includes several saints, was born 1381. Early on the Saint lost his father. The piety of his mother seems to have served as an inspiration for his own spirituality. From childhood he chose a life of prayer and service and longed to be a Saint. One day, his mother made him understand that she feared he harbored ambition or pride secretly in his heart; but he answered: “fear not, mother; I have only one ambition, and that is to become a great servant of the Lord, and to be more pious than my brothers.” His conduct in youth bore witness to his words; for though he lived at a period when the morals of the whole city were very corrupt, his edifying life was regarded by everyone with surprise and his piety produced admiration and respect. To escape the danger which threatened him, he prayed most fervently to God to give him the grace to know the vocation to which he was called. One day, when he was nineteen years of age, while kneeling before a crucifix and an image of the Blessed Virgin he was given a vision of the Eternal Wisdom, in the form of a beautiful and noble Lady who told him to seek the only repose he would ever know in Her, the Eternal Wisdom of God. All earthly things paled in his eyes before the ineffable beauty of this sight, and as it faded away a void was left in his heart which none, but God could fill.

Refusing the offer of a brilliant marriage, he fled from his home in Venice and joined the Order of the Canons of St. George on Alga Island, one mile from Venice where his uncle was a priest.

When St Lawrence first entered religion, a nobleman went to dissuade him from the folly of thus sacrificing every earthly prospect. The young monk listened patiently to his friend’s affectionate appeal, which soon changed into scorn and violent abuse. Calmly and kindly he then replied. He pointed out the shortness of life, the uncertainty of earthly happiness, and the incomparable superiority of the prize he sought, to any pleasures his friend had named. The latter could make no answer; he felt in truth that Lawrence was wise, and he himself was the fool. And he too left the world, became a fellow novice with the Saint, and eventually died a holy death.

St. Lawrence began his novitiate cheerfully; but he soon manifested in his conduct that he was no beginner in the science of holiness. His mortification was exemplary; he never drank outside of meals, and when urged to do so replied: If we cannot endure a little heat on earth, how will we bear that of Purgatory? Amongst other austerities which he practiced to mortify himself, it was specially noticed that, even on the coldest days, he never warmed himself by the fire, He used to go beg alms for the community, and often received sarcastic barbs instead of goods, for which he thanked God. He was never seen taking the air in the convent garden or enjoying the beauty and fragrance of the flowers. The only time when he visited his home was when he was called to see his dying mother. He underwent a very painful and dangerous operation on his throat for the removal of a great tumor. He himself encouraged the surgeon to begin fearlessly. “Cannot Christ,” said he, “give me as much fortitude as He gave to the three youths in the furnace?” Not even a sigh escaped him during the operation, he repeated only the names of Jesus and Mary. When those present uttered their profound astonishment at his self-control, he said: “How little is my suffering compared with that of the holy martyrs, who were tortured with burning torches and red-hot irons or roasted over a slow fire.”

He was admired by his fellows for his poverty, mortification, and fervency of prayer. His superiors had much more difficulty in moderating his zeal than in animating it.

After St. Lawrence had been ordained priest, he daily said Mass with great devotion and seldom without tears. Two years after his ordination to the Catholic priesthood in 1407, the community accepted the Rule of St. Augustine and he was chosen to be the first prior of the community. St. Lawrence promoted the Constitutions which was embraced by other communities of Canons in the region and shortly thereafter he became the Prior General of a Congregation. He was so zealous in spreading it and reformed it so profoundly that he is considered its second founder.

He encouraged frequent Communion, saying that the person who does not strive to become united with Jesus Christ as frequently as possible has very little love for Him.

Although he desired to remain free from all offices of honor, in 1433 he was named Bishop of Castello. He tried to refuse the dignity, but Pope Eugene IV obliged him to accept it. He found a diocese in shambles and his administration was marked by considerable growth and reform. He founded 15 new monasteries and added many new parishes in which he took a special care of the accuracy and beauty of the divine worship. His cathedral became a model for all of Christendom. His door was never closed to the poor, but he himself lived like a poor monk. In 1450, Pope Nicholas V united the Diocese of Castello with the Patriarchate of Grado, and the seat of the patriarchate was moved to Venice.

About 100 years before the explosion of Protestantism, the Church was already immersed in the great crisis of the Revolution. The humanist mentality was promoting pride and sensuality everywhere, and preparing the way for the acceptance of the bad ideas of Protestantism. St. Laurence Justinian reformed his Order, and instead of being persecuted and despised, in 1450 he was named Patriarch of Venice. The ecclesiastic reform he made in Venice is justly considered a precursor to what St. Charles Borromeo did in Milan after the Council of Trent.

It was during St. Lawrence’s rule that Constantinople fell to Muslim forces. Due to their centuries of close trading partnerships with Byzantine Empire, the people of Venice were in a state of panic as to their future. He took a leading role in helping the Republic deal with the crisis, working with the Senate to help chart its future, as well as with the clergy and people to calm them.

A hermit famous for his holiness, who, one day said to a Venetian noble who was visiting him: “The inhabitants of Venice have provoked God’s wrath, by despising His words, and had not the tears of your Patriarch cried to Him, you would all have long since gone to destruction like the inhabitants of Sodom.”

The first Patriarch of Venice, remained in heart and soul a humble priest, his income was used for the benefit of the Church and the relief of the poor, thirsting for the vision reserved for heaven.

While the holy Patriarch was assiduously occupied with the functions of his high station, his strength gradually gave way and he felt his end approaching.

On the feast of the Nativity of Christ, He had just finished writing his last work, The Degrees of Perfection. He felt during Holy Mass an intense desire to be admitted into the presence of his God. A fever seized him soon after Mass, and ended with his death within a few days. He lay on the bare floor when finally the eternal day began to dawn. Are you preparing a bed of feathers for me? he said, No, my Lord was stretched on a hard and painful tree. Laid upon straw, he exclaimed in rapture, Good Jesus, behold, I come. He died in 1455, at the age of seventy-four.

He was beatified in 1524 by Clement VII and canonized in 1690 by Alexander VIII. His feast day was established for September 5, the day of his episcopal consecration.

References and Excerpts

[1] “Saint Lawrence Justinian, First Patriarch of Venice.” [Online]. Available: http://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_lawrence_justinian.html. [Accessed: 04-Sep-2019].

[2] “Lawrence Justinian – Wikipedia.” [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Justinian. [Accessed: 04-Sep-2019].

[3] “St. Lawrence Justinian, Patriarch of Venice.” [Online]. Available: http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/St.%20Lawrence%20Justinian.html. [Accessed: 04-Sep-2019].

[4] “St. Laurence Justinian, saint of September 5.” [Online]. Available: https://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j089sdLaurenceJustinian_9-05.htm. [Accessed: 04-Sep-2019].