This was a charge of great trust, to which was annexed the care of the treasury and riches of the Church, and the distribution of its revenues among the poor.

The Holy Pope promised him that he too would follow him in a few days but having faced a greater trial crowned with a more glorious victory.

The Prefect of Rome was informed of the riches of the Church, and imagining that the Christians had hidden considerable treasures, he was extremely desirous to secure them.

On the third day, he gathered together a great number of them before the Church and placed them in rows, the decrepit, the blind, the lame, the maimed, the lepers, orphans, widows, and virgins.

The materialistic Prefect was only insulted and in his rage ordered Lawrence to be put to death in a slow and torturous manner.

Several senators, who were present at his death, were so powerfully moved by his tender piety and his indifference towards the torture inflicted on him, that they became Christians on the spot.

These noblemen took up the martyr's body on their shoulders, and gave it an honourable burial in the Veran field, near the road to Tibur, on 10 August 258.

Not only the residents of Karkala and the pilgrims flocking there in great numbers, but also devotees who invoke St. Lawrence of Attur without visiting the shrine have experienced his powerful intercession.

The number of pilgrims to the place throughout the year and specially those during the feast days in the month of January is an evident proof that St. Lawrence does not disappoint those who come to him in faith and devotion.

[1] This church being widely acclaimed as having the power to intercede with God, attracts not only the residents of Udupi District but also pilgrims from all parts of India.

Pope Francis had elevated the shrine of Saint Lawrence at Attur – Karkala to the status of a Minor basilica on April 26, 2016.

In his introductory remarks, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai, the chief celebrant of the Holy Eucharist, said that the elevation of the shrine of St. Lawrence to a Minor Basilica was an honor not only for Udupi Diocese but also to the State and the country.

Then, Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro Malankara Catholic Church, Thiruvananthapuram, read the Proclamation Decree in Latin language.

[4] Dr Bernard Moras in his homily said that this was a historical event and expressed gratitude to God for making Saint Lawrence Shrine a Minor Basilica.