Lucy Yi Zhenmei

Lucy Yi Zhenmei (December 9, 1815 – February 19, 1862) was a Sichuanese Catholic saint from Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China. She is the lone woman of the five Guizhou Martyrs, a subset of the much larger Martyr Saints of China. She is referred to as ('Blessed Lucy Yi') in old French sources.

Life and work Born on December 9, 1815, she was the youngest member of her family. Lucy was a very pious child, to the extent that she made a commitment to chastity at the age of 12.

As she matured, she developed a love for reading and study. At the age of 20, in the midst of her higher education she grew very ill. After her recovery, Lucy took her spiritual life even more seriously. She devoted herself to the discipline of prayer with great devotion, assuming a way of life much like that of an ascetic while continuing to assist in the support of her family. Her mother taught her how to spin, which also became part of her daily life.

After her father died, she lived with her brother and mother, using part of her leisure time to catechise children nearby. The parish priest, who asked her to teach at the school in Mianyang, noticed her devotion and reliable knowledge of her faith. After four years, her brother went to Chongqing to practice medicine, and Lucy and her mother joined him. In Chongqing, the local priest also asked her to help teach the women in their parish. When offered money for her work, she refused to take it and offered her work to God.

Lucy Yi Zhenmei is honored (with Agatha Lin Zhao and Agnes Tsao Kou Ying) with a Lesser Feast on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on February 19.