Life of Saint Lucy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nBorn in Syracuse, a city in the Roman province of Sicily, according to tradition Lucia came from noble, wealthy parents, the daughter of Eutychia; her father is said to have died when Lucia was young. She was probably called Lucius, given the Roman custom of naming daughters after their father. According to some, it is inspired by the Pauline text, \u00abthe children of light\u00bb. Lucia certainly means \u00abLight\u00bb or \u00abshe who brings light\u00ab. She was raised in the Christian faith. She consecrated her life to God and took a vow of virginity. Her mother, who was ill, arranged for her to marry a young pagan man, and Lucia, in order to be freed from this arrangement, persuaded her to go and pray at the tomb of \u00c1gueda de Catania to cure her illness. When her mother recovered, Lucia asked her to release her from the engagement, allow her to consecrate her life to God, and donate her fortune to the poorest. Her mother agreed. But her suitor accused her before the proconsul Paschasius of being a Christian, in the time of the emperor Diocletian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Martyrdom and Death of Saint Lucy<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nLucia\u2019s martyrdom is not attested by contemporary sources or sources immediately following the persecution of Diocletian, but rather by hagiographic accounts. The oldest of these accounts is a Greek martyrion<\/em> (BHG 995), and its corresponding Latin version (BHL 4992) is at least a century later.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen Lucia was arrested on the charge of being a Christian, Paschasius ordered her to make sacrifices to the gods. Lucia then said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u00abPure sacrifice before God is to visit the widows, the orphans and the pilgrims who suffer in anguish and need, and it is now the third year that I have offered sacrifices to God in Jesus Christ by giving away all my possessions.\u00ab<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Enraged, Paschasius ordered his soldiers to take her to a brothel to be violated, and then turned to Lucia and said: \u00abI will take you to a place of perdition so that the Holy Spirit will depart from you\u00bb. The soldiers took hold of her to carry her away, tying her hands and feet with ropes, but no matter how hard they tried they could not move her: the girl remained rigid as a rock. Upon learning of this, Paschasius ordered that she be subjected to torment with oil and boiling pitch, but he still could not make her yield. Condemned to be martyred, before dying she prophesied her canonisation and her patronage as protector of Syracuse, along with the fall of Diocletian and Maximian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Greek account \u2014dating from the 5th century\u2014 and the Latin account \u2014dated to the 6th\u20137th centuries\u2014 are essentially identical, though they differ in some final details: according to the Greek martyrion<\/em> Lucia was beheaded, whereas according to the Latin passio<\/em>, she was martyred by one or more sword blows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/caminodesantiagofrances.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/02\/Santa-Lucia-Camino-de-Santiago-Frances.jpg\")
Saint Lucy<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShe was buried in the same place where, in the year 313, a sanctuary dedicated to her was built, which became a destination for pilgrimages in her honour. According to tradition, her story spread throughout Sicily: \u201cshe consecrated her virginity with martyrdom, for your purity and holiness are pleasing to God\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patronage of Saint Lucy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- She is the patron saint of eyesight. The connection between Lucia and eyes, which makes this saint the protector of sight, is made explicit in the iconography of the Middle Ages and perhaps derives from the etymological closeness of the Greek name \u00abLucia\u00bb to the Latin term lux<\/em> (light). Legend has it that it was the beauty of Lucia\u2019s eyes that gave one of her suitors no rest, so she tore them out and sent them to him. Filled with remorse and struck by Lucia\u2019s courage, the suitor converted to Christianity. A medieval legend said that when Lucia was in court, even without eyes, she could still see. Another version claims that the proconsul Paschasius ordered his soldiers to tear out Lucia\u2019s eyes, but after they did so, God granted her new eyes even more beautiful than the ones she had before.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- She is the patron saint of the poor, the blind, sick children and cities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- She is the patron saint of farmers, electricians, dressmakers, drivers, photographers, knife-sharpeners, cutters, glaziers, tailors, plumbers and writers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- She is the patron saint of a number of towns, namely:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- San Miguel del Camino<\/a><\/strong>, in Leon Province<\/a><\/strong>, on the Camino de Santiago Frances<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Syracuse in Italy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Santa Luc\u00eda, Provincia de Cocl\u00e9, en Panam\u00e1.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Venice in Italy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Zacatecoluca in El Salvador.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- El Divisadero in the department of Moraz\u00e1n, El Salvador.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Barrio Santa Luc\u00eda Chacalzingo (primer establecimiento de la Ciudad), Ciudad de Santa Ana en El Salvador.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Santalla de Rey en Espa\u00f1a.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ferre\u00f1afe (Lambayeque) in Peru.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Moche in Peru. Founded in 1534 as Saint Lucy de Moche.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Mossor\u00f3 in Brazil.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Santa Luc\u00eda del Tuy, estado Miranda,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Saint Lucy, state of Jalisco, Mexico.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Saint Lucy, in the department of Canelones, Uruguay. It is also the seat of the municipality of the same name.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Saint Lucy Utatl\u00e1n, Solol\u00e1; Saint Lucy Cotzumalguapa (Escuintla); and Saint Lucy Milpas Altas (Sacatep\u00e9quez), in Guatemala.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Saint Lucy in the department of the same name, San Juan Province, Argentina. The National Feast of Saint Lucy is celebrated there.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Saint Lucy de Tirajana (Gran Canaria), Canary Islands, Spain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hacinas, in the province of Burgos, Spain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hermosa, Cantabria, Spain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Roales de Campos, Valladolid, Spain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- As Teixugueiras, Concello de Cartelle, province of Orense, Galicia, Spain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Santa Luc\u00eda (Nicaragua), Nicaragua.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Suchitoto, El Salvador.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cant\u00f3n Saint Lucy , Guayas Province \u2013 Ecuador, a celebration known as the feast of the \u00abPATRON SAINT of eyesight SANTA LUCIA<\/strong><\/em> \u00ab<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
In Spain, 13 December is celebrated as the day of dressmakers and tailors, at the hermitage of Saint Lucy in the city of Valencia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saint Lucy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Lucia\u2019s martyrdom is not attested by contemporary sources or sources immediately following the persecution of Diocletian, but rather by hagiographic accounts. The oldest of these accounts is a Greek martyrion<\/em> (BHG 995), and its corresponding Latin version (BHL 4992) is at least a century later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Lucia was arrested on the charge of being a Christian, Paschasius ordered her to make sacrifices to the gods. Lucia then said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00abPure sacrifice before God is to visit the widows, the orphans and the pilgrims who suffer in anguish and need, and it is now the third year that I have offered sacrifices to God in Jesus Christ by giving away all my possessions.\u00ab<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Enraged, Paschasius ordered his soldiers to take her to a brothel to be violated, and then turned to Lucia and said: \u00abI will take you to a place of perdition so that the Holy Spirit will depart from you\u00bb. The soldiers took hold of her to carry her away, tying her hands and feet with ropes, but no matter how hard they tried they could not move her: the girl remained rigid as a rock. Upon learning of this, Paschasius ordered that she be subjected to torment with oil and boiling pitch, but he still could not make her yield. Condemned to be martyred, before dying she prophesied her canonisation and her patronage as protector of Syracuse, along with the fall of Diocletian and Maximian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Greek account \u2014dating from the 5th century\u2014 and the Latin account \u2014dated to the 6th\u20137th centuries\u2014 are essentially identical, though they differ in some final details: according to the Greek martyrion<\/em> Lucia was beheaded, whereas according to the Latin passio<\/em>, she was martyred by one or more sword blows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was buried in the same place where, in the year 313, a sanctuary dedicated to her was built, which became a destination for pilgrimages in her honour. According to tradition, her story spread throughout Sicily: \u201cshe consecrated her virginity with martyrdom, for your purity and holiness are pleasing to God\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Spain, 13 December is celebrated as the day of dressmakers and tailors, at the hermitage of Saint Lucy in the city of Valencia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Patronage of Saint Lucy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Saint Lucy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n