WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for The Nun II.
All its ambitious supernatural theatrics aside, The Conjuring franchise has always entertained historical connections, and its 2023 spin-off The Nun II also interestingly shares real history. The first Nun movie dealt with Sister Irene who, along with a priest, sought to uncover a dark secret in 1950s-era Romania. The title alluded to the Demon Nun, one of the many terrifying incarnations that the Biblican demon Valak takes on. Valak and his Demon Nun form to return to The Nun II which ends up introducing a major new protagonist in the form of Saint Lucy, a historical Roman Christian martyr dating from all the way back to the 4th century.
This real-life connection makes The Nun II the second supernatural horror of 2023 to focus on an iconic member of the clergy, the other being The Pope’s Exorcist. The late Vatican exorcist Father Gabriel Amorth’s true story formed the basis of this movie but ended up adding heavily fictional claims and details too. The Nun 2’s ending and overall story has its fair share of creative liberties with connections to The Conjuring franchise. Even though the Michael Chaves-directed gothic horror earned mixed reviews, it did good business at the box office and allowed diehard franchise fans new scares and directions for the Conjuring movies to embark on.
Saint Lucy Was A Christian Martyr From The 4th Century
![Who Is Saint Lucy? The Nun 2 Character’s Real History & Franchise Connections Explained](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/a-glass-stained-painting-of-saint-lucy-looking-upwards.jpg)
The Nun II finds the two young nuns Sister Irene and Sister Debra initially investigating a slain pastor’s rosary. A French librarian eventually tells them that they are pursuing an angel rejected by God (the demon Valak) and the rosary bears the family crest of Saint Lucy. Before Saint Lucy’s relevance to the narrative, it’s important to note her actual origins. As per Charles Herbermann’s voluminous work Catholic Encyclopedia, Saint Lucy was born in Syracuse when the Roman Empire was still in power around c. 238. Most of the details of her life aren’t rooted as factual details, but the records usually point to her tragic martyrdom.
Herbermann notes that Saint Lucy was born into a conventional Roman family, but she declared her virginity to God in her early 20s. But her widowed mother still feared for her daughter’s social status and forcefully placed her hand in marriage with the son from a wealthy pagan family. Her suitor, disappointed by Lucy rejecting his advances, is believed to have killed her. While Lucy passed away early in her life in the year 304, she is remembered in the Roman Catholic Church as one of the best-known martyr saints of the religion. Local cults eventually developed in her memory in Syracuse and Sicily.
Apart from being immortalized in visually enthralling artworks by painters like the Renaissance era stalwart Francesco del Cossa, Saint Lucy also finds a mention in Italian poet Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. She appears as a mythical figure who is tasked by “the blessed Dame” (Mother Mary) to send fellow poet Virgil to Dante’s aid. December 13, the date believed to mark Saint Lucy’s martyrdom, is celebrated annually as Saint Lucy’s Day. Feasting in her honor on this day is also a poetic reference to her own lifetime as she is believed to have provided food and safety to the Christians who feared pagan persecution and hid in Roman catacombs.
Why Saint Lucy’s Eyes Are So Special In The Nun 2
![Saint Lucy holding a plate of eyes in a painting](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/saint-lucy-holding-a-plate-of-eyes-in-a-painting.jpg)
Historical sources like the Catholic Encyclopedia suggest that Saint Lucy was brutally murdered by a disgruntled pagan who gouged her eyes out. But over time, most of the fascination around her spirituality is geared towards these eyes. The Nun II’s Easter Eggs include its central pursuit of the eyes of Saint Lucy herself. While Valak seeks the eyes and its holy powers for his own use, the protagonists wish to get to it before the demon. The movie suggests that after her death, the remaining members of Saint Lucy’s family dispersed her eyes across the globe and it has since then been preserved from one monastery to the other.
These claims are added for dramatic effect in The Nun II even though some of Saint Lucy’s followers do believe that her eyes carried magical powers capable of defeating demonic forces. Most of the interest in her eyes is because of the violent incidents preceding her death. While some sources suggester a disgruntled suitor or the pagan Governor of Syracuse gouged out her eyes to torture her, Herbermann adds that some medieval accounts further added the legend that Saint Lucy actually gouged out her own eyes to dissuade a suitor from marrying her. Because of such multiple accounts, Saint Lucy’s eyes have acquired a mythical status.
In fact, Saint Lucy is also regarded as the patron saint of those with eye illnesses. Her presence and her eyes indicate light shining out of demonic darkness. Interestingly, the word Lucy itself originates from Lucia which in turn comes from the Latin word lux (which translates to “light”). Legend has it that even though her eyes were gouged out, they were miraculously restored by the time she was being buried. Most of the paintings and iconography around Saint Lucy also dominantly feature eyes on a cup or a plate. A few Gothic artworks also feature her holding a plate with two eyes on it.
How Saint Lucy Is Related To Sister Irene & Lorraine Warren
![Sister Irene and Lorraine Warren looking intently at something in The Nun II and The Conjuring](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/sister-irene-and-lorraine-warren-looking-intently-at-something-in-the-nun-ii-and-the-conjuring.jpg)
Not only is Sister Irene related to her future descendant Lorraine Warren (the clairvoyant paranormal expert in the original Conjuring movies) but The Nun II reveals them both to belong to Saint Lucy’s bloodline. This perfectly sets up The Nun and The Conjuring characters’ connection to a larger purpose. From the times of Saint Lucy to the future life of Lorraine Warren, Valak and his demonic allies seem to have had a haunting presence in the bloodline’s existence across centuries. The exact familial relationship between Sister Irene and Lorraine Warren is still uncertain but future movies might shed more light.
Who Plays Saint Lucy In The Nun 2?
![Kate Colebrooks smiling](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/kate-colebrooks-smiling.jpg)
The flashback scenes in The Nun II feature Kate Colebrook appearing as Saint Lucy. This is an interesting casting choice in itself as Colebrook also has a brief role as Sister Irene’s mother. The actress has appeared in French TV shows such as the historical drama Versailles and the satirical comedy Call My Agent. While The Nun II introduces her to The Conjuring universe fans, she also appeared in an episode of Netflix’s hit romantic-comedy series Emily in Paris season 3. Casting Colebrook in both roles was an interesting element to foreshadow Irene’s eventual connection with the bloodline of Saint Lucy.