A priest in Sicily has invited the faithful to bring their smartphones to church tomorrow so he can give them a special blessing on the eve of the feast of St Lucy, the patron saint of eyesight.
Father Alessandro Palermo, 30, parish priest for Marsala in the west of Sicily, said that images viewed on phones could lead people into sin and that blessing the devices could help to ensure that they were used in ways that were positive for the spirit.
“Society is drugged by the cellphone but at the same time it is not interested in understanding how it should be used,” he told his congregation. “That’s why a blessing can do good, not to the phone but to those who use it.”
St Lucy was martyred in the Sicilian town of Syracuse in about 304 after having her eyes gauged out, according to some accounts. Other versions of the story say that she took out her own eyes to discourage a suitor who admired them. She became the patron saint of the blind, as well as of glaziers and authors.
“Lucy, who is invoked as a protector of sight and of the eyes, can become a special guide for the correct use of digital media,” the priest said. “We need an educated vision that enables us to make a correct and positive use of our smartphones and tablets. That’s why I want to bless them.”