Saint of the Day: Bl. Lucia of Verona

Servite Tertiary (ca. 1514-1574)

Her life

+ Lucia was born in Verona, Italy.

+ As a young woman, she became a member of the Servite Third Order and, although she remained in her family home, she lived as though she was living in a monastery.

+ Known for her piety and charity, she visited the sick, nursing them in their own homes and sitting with the dying. She was especially known as for her courage in caring for victims of plague.

+ In 1574, she contracted the plague herself and died on the disease. Although she was never formally beatified, she is honored with the title “Blessed” within the Servite Order.

For prayer and reflection

“Here is a wise virgin, from among the number of the prudent, who went forth with lighted lamp to meet Christ.”—Entrance Antiphon for the Mass of the Common of Virgins

Spiritual bonus

On this day, the Church also remembers Blessed Miguel Gómez Loza, a married layman who was martyred in 1928 in Atotonilco, Jalisco, Mexico, as part of the religious persecutions of the Mexican Revolution. He was beatified in 2005.

Prayer

Hear us, God our Savior, that, as we rejoice in commemorating the Virgin blessed Lucia, we may be instructed by her loving devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Virgins)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.