St. Lawrence Justinian was the first Patriarch of his native city, Venice. Renouncing the prospect of a noble marriage, he entered the Canons of St. George in Alga. All his revenues were spent on the poor and the building of new monasteries. God made it known that the safety of the glorious Venetian state was due, not to the diplomatic skill of her doges, or her formidable galleys, but to the holiness and merits of her bishop. He was a true forerunner of the ecclesiastical reform later carried out by the Council of Trent. He died on January 8, 1455, a model of humility and pastoral zeal. Innocent XII fixed his feast on this day, the anniversary of his Episcopal consecration.

(Source: The New Roman Missal, Rev. F. X. Lasance)