14 Facts About Brother Lawrence

Brother Lawrence is best remembered for a posthumous book of his writing, the classic Christian text The Practice of the Presence of God.

Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in Herimenil, near Luneville in the region of Lorraine, located in modern-day eastern France.

Brother Lawrence's parents were peasants, so his schooling was limited at best.

Brother Lawrence fought in the Thirty Years' War and, following an injury, left the army and served as a valet.

Brother Lawrence fearlessly answered that he was not what they suspected.

Brother Lawrence never spoke of the horrors he had experienced, but the effects remained with him for the rest of his life.

Brother Lawrence firmly resolved to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, a holy Discalced Carmelite.

Brother Lawrence entered the priory as a lay brother and took the religious name "Lawrence of the Resurrection".

Brother Lawrence spent the rest of his life with the Parisian community, where his primary assignments were working in the kitchen and, in his later years, repairing sandals.

Brother Lawrence carried out this office of cook until his leg became ulcerated, at which point his superiors assigned him an easier task, as sandal maker.

Brother Lawrence suffered from 'a kind of sciatic gout that made him limp' and worsened as the years went by.

Brother Lawrence had a reputation for experiencing profound peace and visitors came to seek spiritual guidance from him.

Brother Lawrence was ill three times during the last years of his life.

Brother Lawrence looks rough in appearance, and gentle by manners.