Saint Lucy

Life story

Lucy lived in Syracuse, the great city on the east coast of Sicily. What is known of her comes from accounts written centuries after her death, so many details belong to tradition rather than firm history. What does have early support is that she was martyred at Syracuse in the early fourth century, during the persecution launched by the emperor Diocletian; a Greek inscription of the fourth or fifth century found in Syracuse mentions her.

According to tradition, she was a wealthy young woman who had resolved to remain unmarried. After her mother was cured of an illness, she asked to give her dowry to the poor. The man who had been meant to marry her was angered and denounced her to the governor as a Christian. The later narratives say the magistrate tried to force her to renounce her faith, that she refused, and that she was condemned and killed by the sword around 304. The familiar image of a dish holding a pair of eyes is a legendary element that appeared later, and may be linked to her name, which recalls the Latin word for light.

Devotion to Lucy spread very early. Her name is found in the Roman Canon of the Mass, and ancient martyrologies mark her feast on 13 December. By tradition her body was buried at Syracuse. It was later moved: according to medieval sources it was first taken to Constantinople and, after the sack of that city in 1204, on to Venice, where the main part of her relics is kept today in the church of San Geremia. Although her biography is uncertain in many points, the Church has kept her among the women martyrs honoured from the earliest times.

Works and witness

• A young woman of Syracuse who, by tradition, gave her dowry to the poor
• Martyred around 304 in Diocletian's persecution
• Named on an ancient Greek inscription found at Syracuse
• Named in the Roman Canon of the Mass
• Her main relics rest in San Geremia, Venice

Patron of

Syracuse

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Martyrologium Romanum
• Acta S. Luciae (Passio, later Greek and Latin versions)
• Dicastery for the Causes of Saints – biographical profile

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.