FATHER O.O.’S SAINTS: STORIES OF SACRIFICE
Three saints have a relevant presence in Blur: Saint Lucy, Saint Martin, and Saint
Sebastian, all of whom are Catholic saints. While the three saints had no connection in
their lives, it’s understandable why they all come together in Blur.
St. Lucy: Image from wikipedia.com
St. Lucy
Lucy, the most obvious connection to Dot, is the patron saint of eyes and the blind. She
lived from 283-304 CE (“Common Era,” formerly referred to as “AD”) in Syracuse, Sicily.
Lucy was persecuted for her Christian beliefs by Diocletian, a Roman Emperor notorious
for targeting Christians. According to legend, when the guards came to take her to be
sacrificed she was so filled with the Holy Spirit she could not be lifted. Allegedly, she
was tortured a number of ways, most significantly by eye gouging, as punishment for
her beautiful eyes. For this reason, she is often pictured holding her eyes on a platter.
The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri proposes another version of the story. In the
second book of his Divine Comedy trilogy, Purgatorio, the poet suggests that Lucy was
admired for her beautiful eyes by an unwanted suitor. In order to protect her virginity
and remain chaste, she gouged out her own eyes. For sacrificing her eyes, God
supposedly gave her an even more beautiful set of eyes. Each Saint has a feast day on
which they are honored and fittingly, the feast of Saint Lucy is celebrated on one of the
darkest days of the year, December 13.
St. Martin: Image from germaniasociety.com
St. Martin
Early in the play, Father O.O., who will later begin a life of poverty, invokes Saint Martin.
Saint Martin (~315-402 CE), the patron saint against poverty, is believed to have lived in
a Roman province that today is part of modern Hungary. A Roman soldier, St. Martin
denounced the old pagan religions of Rome for his newer Christian beliefs, against the
wishes of his parents. He is most noted for a vision of Christ, which inspired him to be
baptized. While serving in the army, St. Martin encountered a beggar, freezing because
of his ragged clothing. Without a moment’s thought, St. Martin cut his military cloak in
two and gave half to the beggar to warm himself. That night, Martin dreamed that
Jesus came to him, wearing the cloak he had given to the beggar, declaring to angels
that an unbaptized soldier had “clad him.” Immediately after, Martin went to be
baptized.
St. Sebastian: Image from mini-site.louvre.fr
St. Sebastian
Saint Sebastian is the patron saint of athletes, soldiers, and physical endurance. The
date of his birth is unknown, but he is believed to have died in 268 CE. He was an army
captain who was persecuted by the Roman emperor Diocletian for his Christian beliefs.
As punishment, Sebastian was tied to a tree and repeatedly shot with arrows. Left for
dead, he was saved by a widow, Irene of Rome. Later, he was found and clubbed to
death.
Saint Sebastian is sometimes idolized by the gay community, most notably by the great
Irish writer Oscar Wilde, who adopted the nom de plume Sebastian Melmoth after going
to Rome and seeing paintings of St. Sebastian. Wilde wrote of the eroticism of St.
Sebastian’s martyrdom and considered him a symbol of male beauty, death, and gay
sexuality. In a sense, we can connect him with the character of Francis in Blur, who
struggles with her sexuality. Saint Sebastian was married to a deaf woman by the name
of Zoe, further linking him to the disabled communities that figure so prominently in
Blur.
 Serena Kamlani