We see her statue, a beautiful young woman holding two eyes on a platter and we wonder who this woman was and what happened to her? We hear her name in the Eucharistic prayer and we wonder how she became one of the few saints to be mentioned at such an important part of the mass. Who was St. Lucy and why is she so highly honored in the Catholic tradition?
In the year 283 AD, a young woman named Lucy was born into a wealthy family in Syracuse, Sicily. When Lucy was only five, her father died, leaving her and her mother, Eutychia, to fend for themselves. Eutychia suffered from hemorrhaging, making her unable to provide and care for Lucy. Hoping to secure a better life for her daughter, she arranged for Lucy to marry a rich young pagan man named Paschasius.
Concerned for her mother’s health, Lucy convinced her to take a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Agatha, hoping that St. Agatha would heal her from her hemorrhaging. While there, Lucy received a vision of St. Agatha, who told her that her mother would be healed because of Lucy’s fervent faith. St. Agatha also prophesied that Lucy would be “the glory of Syracuse, just as Agatha was the glory of Catania.” When Lucy awoke from her vision, she cried, “O mother, mother, you are healed!”
After her mother’s miraculous healing, Lucy persuaded her to give her dowry to the poor and to allow her to commit herself to Christ as a virgin. Though Eutychia struggled to accept and understand Lucy’s decision, she finally agreed, realizing how deeply her daughter desired to devote her life to God as a virgin.
This decision, however, angered the pagan suitor, Paschasius, who, in his resentment, denounced Lucy as a Christian. This accusation drew the attention of the governor, who sought to force Lucy into a brothel as punishment. However, when guards went to retrieve her, they found themselves unable to move her—even when they hitched her to a team of oxen.
Infuriated, the governor ordered a series of tortures to be done to her as punishment for being a Christian. According to one tradition, he ordered her eyes gouged out as part of her punishment; another account tells that Lucy plucked out her own eyes to discourage a suitor who admired them. In both stories, when her body was prepared for burial, her eyes were found miraculously restored. This extraordinary event, along with her name meaning “light” or “lucid,” led to her patronage of the blind and those suffering from eye ailments. Artists frequently depict her holding a plate with her eyes, symbolizing her sacrifice.
Lucy’s torture culminated in her being surrounded by bundles of wood that were set aflame; however, the fire was miraculously extinguished. Finally, she was martyred by a dagger. Through her suffering, Lucy remained steadfast in her faith, courageously warning Paschasius of his punishment before she died.
To this day, St. Lucy is venerated on her feast day, December 13, through various traditions and ceremonies. In Sweden, for example, St. Lucia’s Day marks the beginning of the Christmas season, where the eldest daughter in a family dresses in a white robe, wearing a crown of evergreen wreath and candles. This custom reflects Lucy’s legacy of bringing hope and light during dark times.
St. Lucy's life of steadfast faith, light, and hope makes her a powerful figure in Catholic devotion. She reminds the faithful to bear the light of Christ courageously in daily life.
Prayer to Saint Lucy:
Saint Lucy, whose beautiful name signifies light, by the light of faith which God bestowed upon you increase and preserve His light in 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.