13/12/2025
Happy Feast Day, St. Lucy! ๐๏ธโค๏ธ
With grateful hearts, we thank St. Lucy, our patron saint of sight, for her guidance and light.
May she continue to bless our work as we care for vision and serve our community.
St. Lucy, pray for us ๐๐ป
Saint Lucy of Syracuse, Virgin and Martyr
December 13
Saint Lucy was born in Syracuse, Sicily in the year 283. Her father was of Roman origin, but his early death left her dependent upon her mother, whose name, Eutychia, seems to indicate that she came of Greek stock.Her mother Eutychia, had suffered four years with dysentery but Lucy had heard the renown of Saint Agatha of Palermo, the patroness of Catania when they were at a Liturgy, the gospel was read that made mention of a woman who was healed of the dysentery by touching of the hem of the garment of Jesus Christ, which convinced her mother to pray together at Saint Agatha's tomb.
They stayed up all night praying, until they fell asleep, exhausted. Saint Agatha then appeared in a vision to Lucy and said, "Soon you shall be the glory of Syracuse, as I am of Catania." At that instant Eutychia was cured. Lucy secretly consecrated her virginity to God and distributed her wealth to the poor.
Since she refused to marry a pagan, the rejected suitor denounced her to the prefect Paschasius as a Christian, and she was arrested, then the pagans attempted to burn her alive and heaped bundles of wood about her and set them on fire and God saved her. As final torture, her eyes were gouged out. She was miraculously still able to see without her eyes. After a long and glorious combat she was finally killed with a sword thrust into her throat, about year 304.
She was honoured at Rome in the sixth century among the most illustrious virgins and martyrs. Since there is a late tradition that she was blinded by her torturers, she is regarded as the patron saint of eyesight of the blind and of lucidity.
Prayer:
Saint Lucy, whose beautiful name signifies light, by the light of faith which God bestowed upon you increase and preserve His light ain my soul so that I may avoid evil and be zealous in the performance of good works, and detest nothing so much as the blindness and the darkness of evil and sin. Obtain for me, by your intercession with God perfect vision for my bodily eyes and the grace to use them for God's greater honor and glory and the salvation of souls. St. Lucy, virgin and martyr hear my prayers and obtain my petitions. Amen.
Sources:
- Lucy of Syracus. (nd). Orthodox Wiki. https://orthodoxwiki.org/Lucy_of_Syracuse
- Prayer to Saint Lucy. (nd). Daily Bread. https://www.google.com/.../daily.../prayers-saint-lucy/amp/
