Tag: patron saint
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Long Live Santa Lucia!
Viva Santa Lucia! December 13 is the Feast of Santa Lucia. Devotees wearing green caps process her priceless silver statue and sacred relics through the streets of Oritgia, Sicily. Throughout the march, faithful sing a call-and-response in reverence to their patroness: Viva Santa Lucia! Viva Santa Lucia! (Long Live Santa Lucia!) (Statue of Santa Lucia…
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A Dagger
Yes, that is a dagger in her neck! When the Christian maiden Lucia refused to participate in the activities of the Roman temple dedicated to sacred prostitution to which she was condemned, the governor of Siracusa, Paschasius, sent soldiers to remove her, however she was immovable! They brought in oxen to drag her away, yet…
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The Young Maiden Lucia
At the dawn of the 4th century, practicing Christianity in the Roman-ruled city of Siracusa was illegal. Already though, inspired by nearby Catania’s Patron Saint, Sant’Agata, who lived just a few decades before (from 231 AD – 251 AD), the young and beautiful Lucia devoted herself to Christianity. In fact, she was known to enter…
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Eyes and A Dagger
Santa Lucia is often identified with eyes on a plate, a dagger, flames or a torch, and a palm. This image is from the Duomo in Siracusa. Eyes on a plate to remind us that the beautiful maiden’s eyes were either gouged out by the Roman soldiers or she did it herself to make herself…
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Super Saint Maria (of/to) the Rescue
This weekend culminates the month-long, annual celebration in Castellammare del Golfo of their Patroness, Maria SS. del Soccorso (Super Saint Mary of the Rescue). Last night they carried her statue through the town streets to the marina and brought her out to sea, where dozens of boats followed her path around the harbor. On Sunday…
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Cefalù’s Festa di Santissimo Salvatore della Trasfigurazione
Thursday, August 6 is a significant day in Cefalù. It is the town’s annual celebration of their patron saint, Santissimo Salvatore della Trasfigurazione (also known as Christ Pantocrator). The tradition stems from the celebrated cathedral, or duomo, of the town that was recently recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site (part of the Arab-Norman gems…
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She Answered Their Prayers
A severe famine struck Siracusa and its environs in 1646, the time of Spanish domination of Sicily. For relief, the citizens prayed to their patron saint, Santa Lucia, and in May that year during a mass, a quail flew into the Cathedral squawking at the faithful. At the same moment, a messenger entered the church…
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She was Immovable
It was the dawn of the 4th century, and practicing Christianity in the Roman-ruled city of Siracusa was illegal. Already though, inspired by nearby Catania’s Patron Saint, Sant’Agatha, young and beautiful Lucia devoted herself to Christianity. She planned to give her dowry to the poor, yet her widowed and sick mother had already arranged Lucia…
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Santa Rosalia before 1624
Before 1624, Santa Rosalia (1130-1166) was a little-known, medieval-era saint. Her story is often compared to Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) because she too was the daughter of a Norman nobleman, who rejected a life of privilege and instead sought a life devoted to prayer and solitude. During her lifetime, Palermo and Sicily experienced an…