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==Life==
===In Sicily===
Saint Luke was born in [[w:Corleone|Corleone]], Sicily in the 9th century AD (c.815 to 818 AD),<ref name="ENRO"/> on the eve of the Saracen invasion of Sicily.<ref group="note">The first Arab battle against Byzantine troops occurred on July 15, 827, near [[w:Mazara del Vallo|Mazara]], resulting in an Aghlabid victory. It took over a century for Byzantine Sicily to be conquered. Syracuse held out for a long time, and Taormina fell in 902. Eventually all of Sicily was conquered by the Arabs in 965, and the [[w:Emirate of Sicily|Emirate of Sicily]] was formed, an Islamic state on the island of Sicily which existed from 965 to 1072.</ref> His parents Leo and Theoktiste baptized him Leo. They were a pious and wealthy family who raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He was orphaned at an early age when his parents died, and devoted himself to managing the estate and supervising the herdsas a shepherd. In the solitude of the fields he realized that he had a call to religious life, so he sold the estate, gave the money to the poor, and went to the monastery of St. Philip in [[w:Agira |Agira]], in the province of Enna, Sicily.<ref name="SYNAX"/>
It is not known how long he stayed at the monastery at [[w:Agira |Agira]], but due to the raids of the Saracens, he left from there and went to Calabria.<ref group="note">With the Arab invasion of Sicily (from 827 AD through to 878 AD) many monks left the island and took refuge in Calabria.</ref> Before going to Calabria however, he made a special point of going on pilgrimage to visit the tombs of the Apostles [[Apostle Peter|Peter]] and [[Apostle Paul|Paul]] in Rome.
==Veneration among Roman Catholics==
[[File:Santa Maria Maggiore and San Leoluca.jpg|right|thumb|The cathedral of ''Santa Maria Maggiore and San Leoluca'', in [[w:Vibo Valentia|Vibo Valentia]].<ref group="note">The current church lies on the spot of a former Byzantine cathedral, probably of the ninth century, which was heavily damaged during the earthquakes of 1638 and 1659. In 1680, construction on the new church was begun, based on the designs of Francesco Antonio Curatoli.</ref>]]
News of Saint Luke's death spread slowly to Corleone, and it is only in the 13th century that there is evidence of a church dedicated to him in his birthplace. In 1420 there are also references to a ''[[Brotherhoods|Brotherhood ]] of San Leoluca''.<ref name="IT-WIKI"/>
Saint Luke's intercession is credited with saving the city of Corleone during an outbreak of the plague of 1575, and he was made the [[patron saint]] of that town. In 1624 he was made the patron saint of [[w:Vibo Valentia|Vibo Valentia]] as well.<ref>{{it icon}} Giorgio Leone. ''I BENI CULTURALI DEL VIBONESE. SITUAZIONE ATTUALE – PROSPETTIVE FUTURE.'' 27 – 28 – 29 DICEMBRE 1995.</ref>
