Feast of St. Lucy

December 13, 2020

by USCCB

Today, December 13, is te Feast of St. Lucy!

This saint, venerated by Christians since her own time, likely was martyred in Sicily, probably during the persecutions of Roman Emperor Diocletian, who ruled 284-305. Legends about Lucy include a rejected suitor denouncing her as a Christian and miracles that saved her from life in a brothel, from being burned at the stake, and from having her eyes plucked out. Another legend says she bled to death after her throat was cut. Lucy, whose name suggests light, is among the saints listed in the canon of the Mass; she is the patron saint of electricians and ophthalmologists, and Christians pray for her intercession regarding diseases of the eyes.

“Lucy reminds us of a value which seems to me very important for you too: courage. She was a young defenseless woman, however she faced torture and a violent death with great courage, a courage that came to her from the Risen Christ, with whom she was united, and from the Holy Spirit, who dwelt within her… Lucy tells us that life is made to be given. She lived this out in the supreme form of martyrdom, but the value of the gift of self is universal; it is the secret to true happiness. Man does not become completely fulfilled by having or by doing. One is fulfilled by loving, i.e. by giving of oneself. And this can also be understood as the secret of the name ‘Lucy’: a person is ‘full of light’ to the extent that he or she is a gift to others. In reality, every person is a gift, he or she is a precious gift!” —Pope Francis, December 13, 2014

Image: Saint Lucy, Francesco del Cossa, National Gallery of Art.