Vatican City, 13 December, 2024 / 1:35 pm (ACI Africa).
On the feast day of St. Lucy, Dec. 13, Pope Francis said that “we need women’s work and their word in a Church that reaches out that it may be leaven and light in the culture and in our lives together.”
The pontiff addressed a message to the Church in Syracuse, Italy, on the occasion of the feast of its patron saint, the Roman martyr who, according to tradition, the Lord allowed to continue seeing despite her eyes being torn out before she was killed out of hatred for the faith during the persecution unleashed by the Emperor Diocletian at the beginning of the fourth century.
As part of the Year of St. Lucy, the city of Syracuse is preparing to receive the remains of this saint, the patron saint of sight, which are currently in Venice. St. Lucy was buried in Syracuse, her hometown. However, her remains were stolen and transferred to Constantinople and, finally, after the sacking of the city in 1204, they were taken to Venice to the Church of Sts. Jeremiah and Lucy.
The relics of the saint can be venerated in Syracuse Dec. 14–26. This is the third time that her remains have been temporarily transferred. The first time was in 2004, on the occasion of the 17th centenary of her martyrdom. The second, in 2014, following an agreement with the Archdiocese of Venice that establishes this exchange every 10 years.
In his message Friday, the Holy Father celebrated this pilgrimage, “from the city that has kept her body for eight centuries to the one where her witness first shone forth, spreading light throughout the world.”
