St. Lucia, Sicilian-born martyr lived only 21 years (283-304). Her mortal remains have been in Venice, Italy since the body was brought there from Constantinople in 1308, after the 4th Crusade. The story of her life and the stranger story of the periodic stealing and recovering of her remains is fascinating. They are currently housed (eyes separate) in a specially constructed wing of St. Geremia, since the name-sake church previously "home" was torn down to build the railroad station long, long ago. Even Sweden is mentioned, perhaps not with the full involvement desired by some... Alberto Tosi Fei, a great contemporary Venetian story-teller, has posted a fascinating rendition on his Facebook page - look it up if you're interested (I havent perfected linking Facebook pages to this forum...). His story is in Italian, but worth the struggle, so, buon ventura! And, as they say there, when celebrating the Saint's Day, it is the Longest Night of the Year, not the shortest day, since "longest night" speaks more to the coming Light of the World than to human concerns about mere earthly daylight hours.
