Uncommon patron saints grace diocesan parishes

* St. Cecilia (feast, Nov. 22):

Her strong faith prevailed, and she eventually convinced Valerian to also become a Christian. Later, she was arrested after converting more than 400 people to Christianity through her preaching. She was sentenced to death by suffocation from smoke. But after two days in a closed room with intense heat and smoke, she remained alive.

Her persecutors then tried to decapitate her, but the executioner was unable to sever her head despite repeated attempts. As she lay bleeding for three days, Cecilia continued to preach to the crowds that gathered to watch her die.

Cecilia is regarded as the patroness of music because she is said to have heard heavenly music in her heart when she was married. As a result, she is often depicted in art with an organ or organ pipes in her hand.

Irish immigrants who worked in the tanneries and fabric mills of the Diocese during the middle 1800s established St. Cecilia's parish in Warrensburg. According to the written history of the parish, the following quotation lends a hint as to why the church was named after the patron saint of music: "It is not known how or why the name of our patron saint was chosen. It may be that [Rev. James Kelly, the first pastor] had a musical bent himself, or that he merely wanted to maintain parity with the musically inclined Protestant churches in the area."

St. Cecilia is also the patron of the parish in Fonda, which was established in 1882.

* St. George (feast, April 23):

The earliest mention of St. George was written by a pilgrim named Theodosius in 530, who recorded that he "visited the tomb of St. George of Lydda" in his travels.

St. George was popular in the East and throughout Europe for hundreds of years, but the Crusades revived his following in England. He is patron saint of that country as well as of Portugal, Aragon, Catalonia, Georgia and Lithuania.

Rev. John F. Riley, pastor of St. George's parish in Pittstown, has no idea why the founding fathers of his parish named their community after St. George. Irish immigrants started the parish in 1917, and the name may have been a carry-over from British influence among them.

* St. Lucy (feast, Dec. 13):

One of the many stories that surround St. Lucy is of her mother trying to marry her off to a pagan husband. Lucy's strong faith in Christ eventually convinced her mother to relent.

Lucy lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, under whose rule many Christians suffered torture and death. Eventually, Lucy's intended bridegroom betrayed her, and she was martyred.

Pictures and statues of a woman holding a plate with two eyes on it represent St. Lucy. This refers to the story of Diocletian putting out her eyes as part of her torture. The legend ends with God's restoring them after her death. Because of this, she is also known as the patron saint of the blind and those with eye troubles.

Gilbert DeLucia, who wrote a history of St. Lucy's parish in Altamont, said that parishioners decided to name their church after this saint due to the influence of another powerful and influential woman.

"Lucy Cassidy was from Albany, and her family was a prominent and influential one in the 1880s," he explained. "The area was a summer haven for the wealthy because it was near the Helderbergs. Among the most important of these visitors was Lucy Cassidy. She was an avid Catholic and staunch church-goer. Because there was no church here, summer visitors had to travel to Albany or Voorheesville by rail to attend Mass. Mrs. Cassidy bought some land and had a small chapel built for Sunday services so she and her family could attend Mass without having to travel back and forth."

Mr. De Lucia explained that the initial chapel was dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, but the popular name became St. Lucy's "probably because of her generous efforts in buying the land and building the chapel."

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