LUCIA and GEMINIANO, saints, martyrs. - They are commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on 16 September. Most probably L. is none other than the famous namesake martyr of Syracuse, in whose honour Honorius I (625–38) built a church in Rome, where the feast was in fact celebrated on 16 September. G., on the other hand, is entirely unknown to the authentic hagiographical tradition.
A Passio, probably written in the 7th century, shortly after the building of the church, relates that L., a Roman widow, was accused by her son before the emperor Diocletian. Brought before the judge and compelled to sacrifice, she refused; she was therefore subjected to tortures. Then exposed to the mockery of the crowd through the streets of the city, she happened to pass before the house of G., who, prompted by a miracle, converted and was associated with L. Both were then taken to Sicily and there martyred together with another seventy-nine persons.