Leoluca
Saint Leoluca | |
|---|---|
Votive image of St. Leoluca | |
| Abbot, Venerable | |
| Born | c. 815 Corleone, Sicily |
| Died | c. 915 |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | San Leoluca Church, Corleone |
| Feast | 1 March |
| Patronage | Corleone, Sicily; Vibo Valentia, Calabria |
Leoluca, also known as Leone Luca, Leo Luke of Corleone, or Luke of Sicily (c. 815 – c. 915) was the abbot and wonderworker of the monastery of Mount Mula in Calabria, and a founder of Italo-Greek monasticism in southern Italy. He is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Born in the Sicilian town of Corleone, he died about a hundred years later, after eighty years of monastic life, in Monteleone Calabro, now Vibo Valentia in Calabria. Today he is a patron saint of both towns, and his feast day is celebrated on 1 March.
In 2006 Leoluca's relics were found in the municipality of San Gregorio d'Ippona, about 2 km southeast of the city of Vibo Valentia.