Feast of St. Lucy,  Santa Lucia, martyr, died during the Diocletianic Persecution. Patron-the blind, martyrs, Perugia & Syracuse, Italy, Mtarfa, Malta, epidemics, salesmen, throat infections & writers. Today’s Scandinavian festival of light signals the arrival of Christmastide.

Feast of Pope Saint Damasus I, Pope and Confessor. Pope from 366 to 384. He commissioned St. Jerome to translate the Scriptures into Latin and encouraged the veneration of martyrs. Patron of Archaeologists and other popes named Damasus.

Feast of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, Mexican convert visited by the Virgin Mary. First indigenous saint from the Americas. Patron of Indigenous people.

Feast of St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, one of the four original doctors of the Church. Born Aurelius Ambrosius, Roman governor of Liguria and Emilia. Patron of beekeepers, bishops, learning, livestock, Milan, police officers and students.

Feast of St. Osmund of Salisbury, England. Count of Sées, Bishop, Norman noble. Following the Norman conquest of England, he served as Lord Chancellor and as the second bishop of Salisbury. Patron of insanity, mental illness, paralyzed people, paralysis, ruptures and toothache.

Feast of St. Francis Xavier, Jesuit missionary, co-founder, the Society of Jesus. Patron of African missions, Apostleship of Prayer, Fathers of the Precious Blood, Green Bay, WI, Missioners of the Precious Blood, navigators, parish missions, Goa and the Propagation of the Faith.

Feast of St. Bibiana, Roman Virgin and Martyr. Patron of epileptics, epilepsy, hangovers, headaches, mental illness, single laywomen and torture victims.

Feast of St. Eligius, Bishop. Patron of metalworkers, goldsmiths, coin collectors, horses, jockeys, cutlers, gilders, harness makers, jewelers, knife makers, laborers, locksmiths, miners, minters, tool makers, veterinarians. St. Eligius Hospital featured in 80’s television.