St. Laurence Giustiniani

Laurence Giustiniani carried the poverty and prayer of a religious into the highest office of the Church in Venice. Born into a noble family in 1381, he turned away from an advantageous marriage and entered the canons regular of St. George in Alga. He prayed through long hours, fasted severely, slept little, served his brethren, and gave generously to the poor. His fellow canons recognized the steadiness beneath that hidden life and eventually chose him as their prior general.

When Laurence became bishop of Castello and later the first patriarch of Venice, rank did not change his manner. He lived simply, cared for the formation of his clergy, preached faithfully, relieved the poor, and wrote on prayer and the interior life from the depth of his own contemplation. Even in his final illness he refused a rich bed and chose to die on the simple pallet used by his religious brethren. Laurence died in 1455, leaving Venice the witness of a pastor whose authority had been purified by poverty and prayer.