St. Lucy Novena – 9 Days of Prayer

Novena to the virgin martyr of Syracuse whose name means 'light' — prayed in the darkest season, for those who wait for the light to return

St. Lucy, whose name means light, was a young martyr of Syracuse who is honoured in the darkest days of the year. This novena asks for light in times of waiting and for healthy eyes, since she is the patron of the blind. Her feast is December 13. In Scandinavian countries girls wear candle crowns on her day, bringing light into the long winter. Pray the novena in Advent, for those with eye trouble, and for light in your own dark hour. Place a candle in a window as you pray.

Feast of St. Lucy · December 139 dayssaint

A novena is nine consecutive days of prayer. Begin nine days before the feast (December 13) and finish on its eve. You can pray this novena at any time of year.

Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app

Open in the app App Store Google Play

St. Lucy Novena – prayer for all nine days

Intention: For Those Waiting in Darkness and for the Light of Hope

St. Lucy, your name means 'light.' You were born in Syracuse, Sicily, around 283 AD, and you consecrated your virginity to Christ as a young woman. When your family tried to arrange your marriage to a pagan, you refused. He denounced you to the governor. You were condemned and sent to a brothel — but the tradition says you could not be moved. They tried fire. Finally you were killed by a sword.

St. Lucy, your feast falls in December, in the darkest season of the year. In Scandinavia, young girls still process by candlelight wearing crowns of candles on your feast — a tradition older than any living memory, a folk memory of the light that breaks into darkness.

You carry a lamp. You carry your eyes — or the eyes that were taken from you and given back, depending on which version of the tradition one follows. Either way, you are associated with seeing in the dark, with light in the time of greatest darkness.

Advent is a time of waiting in darkness for a Light to come. Your feast comes in the middle of that waiting — not as the arrival of the Light, but as the reminder that it is coming. Hold on. The solstice is here. From here, the days grow longer. The Light is on its way.

(Pause to mention your intentions — those who wait in darkness, those who need hope, those for whom December is hard)

St. Lucy, patron of those with eye diseases and of those who need light in darkness, pray for all who are struggling this dark season. Pray for those for whom the holidays bring grief rather than joy — the lonely, the bereaved, the depressed, those estranged from family. Be with them as you were with the early Christians in their hiding: a small flame that would not go out.

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory Be...

St. Lucy, pray for us.

Pray this prayer once a day for nine days in a row.

Traditional Catholic Devotional Prayer · Feast Day: December 13. In the old Julian calendar, this was the winter solstice — the darkest day, on which the light begins to return

More novenas

Frequently asked questions

When should I start the St. Lucy Novena?

Begin on December 4 to end on December 12, the eve of her feast on December 13.

How do I pray the St. Lucy Novena?

Pray the daily prayer once a day, and light a candle.

Who is the St. Lucy Novena for?

It is for those with eye problems and anyone in a dark season.

Pray this novena with daily reminders in the Sacred Novenas app

Open in the app App Store Google Play