Lucy (d. 303)

views updated

Lucy (d. 303)

Saint. Name variations: Lucia. Martyred in year 303.

A martyr from Syracuse, Saint Lucy perished during the reign of Diocletian, who, in an attempt to wipe out Christianity, had decreed in 303 that churches be torn down, sacred writings be destroyed, Christians be removed from public office, and all Christians be subject to torture. According to legend, Lucy rejected a pagan suitor whom her mother desired her to marry, and he denounced her as a Christian. She was condemned to a house of ill-repute. Though she escaped this fate, she was burned to death at the pyre, remaining alive in the midst of the flames until an executioner pierced her throat with a dagger. Lucy is the patron saint of the blind. Her feast day is December 13.