“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him”

1 Corinthians 2:9

Are you an aspiring Ophthalmologist, Optician, or optometrist? Maybe you have blurry vision or perhaps, your eyes have been wounded? Here are some buddy saints whom you can turn to, for they truly had an eye for detail and are the patron saints for the eyes.

St. Odilia

In the year 300, St. Odilia and ten other virgins set out from England on a pilgrimage to the East. Sailing by accident into the Rhine, the ladies were captured by some soldiers and taken to Cologne. The women, in defense of their faith and of their purity chose death.

About eight hundred years later, in 1287, she appeared to John Novelan, a lay brother of the Crosier Order in Paris, and told him she had been appointed by God to be the Patron Saint and Protectress of the members of the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosier Order). She revealed where her relics were.

For centuries it has been the practice in the Crosier Order to bless water in honor of Saint Odilia, dipping her relic in it and asking God to give it “power against all diseases and bodily infirmities”. Many are the cures, especially of diseases of the eyes, obtained through her intercession.

St. Lucia

St Lucia lost her life during the persecution of Christians in the early fourth century. While little is known of her, she is depicted holding a platter with her eyes on them, as her eyes were gorged out during her martyrdom. When her body was being prepared for burial, they discovered her eyes had been restored.

St. Clare of Assisi

In 1224, an army of rough soldiers from Frederick II came to attack Assisi. Although very sick, Clare went out to meet them with the Blessed Sacrament on her hands. She had the Blessed Sacrament placed at the wall where the enemies could see it. Then on her knees, she begged God to save the Sisters. “O Lord, protect these Sisters whom I cannot protect now,” she prayed. A voice seemed to answer: “I will keep them always in My care.” In that moment, a sudden fright struck the attackers and they fled as fast as they could without harming anyone in Assisi.

By Brian Bartholomew Tan