St. Paraskevi of Rome

A second-century Christian of Rome named for Friday, the day of the Cross, because she was born on one. By the account the Church reads, she gave away her inheritance, preached, and was tortured under Antoninus Pius, and restored the sight of an emperor who had been blinded; she was beheaded. The Church prays to her for the healing of eyes and she is painted holding a dish with two eyes on it. There are chapels to her and springs named for her across Greece, Cyprus and the Balkans, and her day at the height of summer is a festival in hundreds of villages. Feast: July 26.