Karkala, Jul 27: St Lawrence, deacon and Martyr of the Holy Catholic Church, is venerated by his devotees and pilgrims flocking to his Shrine at Attur-Karkala numbering over a million every year. He is even 'worshipped' as the 'god' of Karkala by many people. In the Tulu language, St Lawrence is affectionately addressed as 'Karkalada Dever' (god of Karkala). The fame of the Shrine, which is spread far and wide, more for the miraculous powers of the Statue of St Lawrence, having its own history, has always been the centre of attraction, devotion and veneration. The history of this devotion is not a myth butbased on the facts of the life of this great but simple and humble Servant of God, who was privileged to live and die a martyr for his master Jesus Christ.

St Lawrence was one of the 7 deacons of ancient Rome, serving under Pope Sixtus II, martyred during the persecution by emperor Valerian in 258 AD. A deacon of that time was ordained to serve the poor. He was appointed both to the service of the table (corporal works of mercy) and to the service of the Word of God (spiritual works of mercy). St Lawrence is one of the most widely venerated saints of the Roman Catholic Church.