A brave young woman’s fearless love of God

How can a young person understand anything about life? They have not yet lived. What can they possibly share that is not known to anyone older? Perhaps that is why devotion to Saint Lucy (Santa Lucia) spread immediately following her death in 304 A.D. Sometimes, a young person’s witness can teach anyone about a fearless love for God.

Traditionally, the story of St. Lucy has been handed down through; Acts of the Martyrs; inscriptions from the Catacombs of St. John of Syracuse built between the fourth and sixth century; and Jacobus de Voragine’s medieval text Golden Legend, originally titled Readings of the Saints. Historical attributes of St. Lucy also exist in archeological museums in Syracuse, Sicily.

Lucy was born in 283 A.D. to wealthy parents. Her father, who was of Roman descent, passed away during her adolescent years. Her mother, Eutychia (a Greek name), raised her young daughter alone. Eutychia’s health was failing, so she sought to arrange a marriage for her daughter to provide her with financial stability. 

Lucy, however, had other plans. She had already vowed to consecrate her virginity to God, and she intended to keep that promise. Having lived in the centuries immediately succeeding the life and death of Christ, Lucy was familiar with the repercussions of choosing to follow Christ. Despite torture and death as a real risk, Lucy faced the consequence of her decision head-on. 

Soon after the two visited the tomb of Saint Agatha of Sicily (martyred in 251 A.D.) to request healing for her mother, Lucy saw St. Agatha in a dream. St. Agatha told Lucy that her mother would be healed. Eventually, her mother did heal.

Truly thankful for her mother’s improved health, Lucy gave her dowry to the poor. The news angered her betrothed, and he reported her as a Christian to governor Paschasius.

After having just visited St. Agatha’s final resting place in Catania, Sicily and receiving a message from her in a dream, Lucy remained true to her vow of virginity and walked toward her death. Lucy had St. Agatha’s example of martyrdom an estimated fifty years prior during the Decian persecution of Christians.

Legend has it that for her persecution, the governor’s first attempt was to force Lucy into life at a brothel, yet her body became too heavy for the guards to move, even when hitched to a team of oxen. Next, she was ordered to be burned alive at the stake, but the wood would not catch fire. Ultimately, she was executed by sword. 

Artwork often depicts Lucy holding her eyes on a plate. One account is that she removed her eyes to dissuade admirers. Another is that it came as a directive from the governor when she warned him that he would be punished for his actions. However, those who buried Lucy later revealed that her eyes were miraculously still in place. The legends of her eyes led to Lucy becoming the patron saint of eyesight, eye afflictions and the blind. 

Her body was kept untouched in Sicily for four hundred years after her death. Subsequent monarchs who came into power transferred her remains to multiple locations. They now remain as relics in Italian cities, such as Rome, Milan, Naples and the countries of Sweden, France and Germany.

St. Lucy’s feast day is Dec. 13. Throughout centuries, festivities are celebrated around the world in her honor. In Sweden, her feast day begins their Christmas celebrations where the eldest daughter of a family wears a white robe and crown of evergreen and candles, intending to symbolize bringing forth hope and light during the darkest time of the year —winter. 

Tradition also holds that Lucy wore a crown of candles to liberate her hands while carrying food to the poor in the dark. In Olón, Ecuador, she is the patron saint, and the coastal town commemorates her with a week-long festival, which concludes on her feast day. 

The name “Lucy” is derived from the Latin word “lux” meaning “light,” further connecting to her patronage of eyesight.

The irony of St. Lucy’s martyrdom at such a young age is the assumption she would have been forgotten, having died so young, but the opposite is true. Lucy’s brief yet brave life was far from forgotten. Since Pope Gregory I, she has been mentioned by name in the Canon of the Mass, displaying how her heroism made its way around the early Church. Furthermore, she, along with St. Agatha and St. Cecilia, are well-remembered virgin martyrs until this day. Even hundreds of years after her martyrdom, the name Lucy can be found in texts, such as Dante’s Inferno, C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and a Beatles’ song. Her witness, though short-lived, imparts how faithfulness to God from a very young age can impact individuals for immeasurable eras to come.