Image of Saint Lucia, polycromed and gilded wood, 18th century.

Saint Lucia of Syracuse (Portuguese: Santa Luzia de Siracusa) was a 4th-century martyr, a saint that is still prominently worshipped today. Because she refused to renounce her faith in Christ and because she was viciously tortured, she holds in her hands a palm leaf, the symbol of martyrdom, and sometimes a sword – a symbol that harkens back to the manner in which she was executed –, a book – a token of her wisdom –, and a small dish with eyes, her foremost attribute. Since her name, Luzia, means "the shining one" or "the one that irradiates light" (from the Latin word lux, "light"), it was associated early on with sight and, consequently, with the power to heal afflictions concerning the eyes.