Saint Lucy of Syracuse
Virgin and Martyr
- Feast Day
- December 13
- Life
- 283–304
- Born
- Syracuse, Sicily
Lucy was born about 283 in Syracuse to a noble Sicilian family. Her father died when she was a child; she lived with her mother Eutychia, who suffered from a hemorrhagic illness for which no physician had a remedy. Together they made a pilgrimage to the tomb of Saint Agatha in Catania, where, according to the Passio, Agatha appeared to Lucy in a vision and announced that her mother's healing would come through Lucy's own consecrated virginity.
When her mother was cured, Lucy obtained release from her arranged engagement and distributed her dowry to the poor. The rejected suitor denounced her as a Christian to the prefect Paschasius during the Diocletianic persecution. Paschasius ordered her sent to a brothel; the soldiers who came to take her could not move her, even with teams of oxen. He ordered her to be burned alive on the spot, but the flames did not consume her. Finally a soldier put a dagger through her throat and she died, on December 13, 304.
The earliest archaeological evidence of her cult — a marble inscription in the catacomb of San Giovanni in Syracuse — dates from the late fourth century, only decades after her martyrdom. Her name (Lucia, from lux, light) and her courageous witness 'in the darkest days of the year' associated her permanently with the gift of physical sight and with the light of faith. Her relics were translated from Syracuse to Constantinople and from there, in 1204, to the Church of San Geremia in Venice, where they remain.
She is named in the Roman Canon of the Mass alongside Agnes, Cecilia, Agatha, and the other most ancient Roman virgin-martyrs.
Lucy is invoked for protection of the eyes and for cures of blindness, eye diseases, and conditions affecting vision. Her feast on December 13 — which under the old Julian calendar fell on the winter solstice — became, especially in Scandinavia and Sicily, a feast of light: candles, processions, and traditional foods that proclaim Christ as the light shining in the darkness.
Patronages
the blind · blindness · eye disease · ophthalmologists · writers · Syracuse, Sicily · salesmen
Catholic Churches Named After Saint Lucy of Syracuse
20 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint Lucy of Syracuse's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- St. Lucy Parish — Aringay, LA UNION
- St. Lucy Parish — Sta. Lucia, ILOCOS SUR
- St. Lucy's (Cumbernauld) — Cumbernauld, SCT
- St. Lucy — Middletown, RI
- St. Lucy — Houma, LA
- St. Lucy Catholic Church — Middlefield, OH
- St. Lucy — Racine, WI
- St. Lucy Catholic Church — Campbell, OH
- San Lucy Catholic Mission — Gila Bend, AZ
- St. Lucy Catholic Church — Saint Clair Shores, MI
- Saint Lucy — Cumbernauld, Scotland
- St. Lucy Catholic Church — Arborfield, SK
- Saint Lucy — Begijnendijk, Brabant
- Saint Lucy — Helmond, North Brabant
- Saint Lucy — Ravenstein, North Brabant
- Saint Lucy — Cali, Valle del Cauca
- Saint Lucy — Chia, Cundinamarca
- Saint Lucy — Ciudad Ojeda, Zulia
- Saint Lucy Catholic Church — Lucedale, MS
- St. Lucy — Highland Beach, FL
Sources