ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH
Saints celebrated on the 5th of March
LARS, ARCHBISHOP OF UPSALA
Lars [Laurence] (Laurentius Octavius), eighth archbishop of Upsala in Sweden, of the Order of the "Friars Minor" of Saint Francis, was very probably a native Swede. In the year 1222, when the first "Friars Minor" arrived in Sweden, Lars already commanded great respect both because of the nobility of his birth and for his erudition and piety. He was among the first Swedish disciples of Saint Francis, and by his example attracted many distinguished youths and men to follow him.
Several authors state that people and clergy unanimously wanted him to be archbishop of Upsala, and that he was confirmed by Pope Innocent IV in 1244, but that he only received the pallium from Pope Urban IV. According to Damberger* also known as Lars, Laurence became archbishop only around 1260.
After his death, which took place in 1267 or 1268, he was buried near his deceased confreres at Enköping, a town next to Lake Mälaren, where there used to be a monastery of this Order at the time. Bruzen* (IV. 1103) states that this holy archbishop died on April 3, 1267. The Art. Mart.* calls him "blessed". The Bollandists* list him among the Praetermissi on March 5. (I. 359)
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 3, Augsburg, 1869, pp. 717-18)
*A hagiography source used by the authors
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
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