Saints

Patron saint of eyesight. Saint Lucy was martyred during the persecutions of the Emperor Diocletian during the 3rd century. According to legend, when she refused to give up her faith she was blinded, but her sight was miraculously restored. She was finally killed with a sword. There are churches dedicated to her in Rome, Naples and Venice as well as two in England. Her feast is celebrated in Sw... Read More

The feast in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe goes back to the sixteenth century. According to records of the time, a poor Indigenous man named Cuauhtlatohuac was baptized and given the name Juan Diego. He was a 57-year-old widower and lived in a small village near Mexico City. On Saturday morning, December 9, 1531, he was on his way to a nearby barrio to attend Mass in honour of Our Lady. He was... Read More

Carmelite friar, and one of Spain's foremost poets, mystics and theologians. John was born in Toledo in 1542 to a noble but poor family. He was brought up by his mother, went to a poor school, and was then apprenticed to a silk weaver. He had little aptitude for this trade and in 1563 joined the Carmelites. He studied theology and was ordained priest in 1567. St Theresa of Avila persuaded him t... Read More