palm
![[Saint Lucy of Syracuse]](http://saints.sqpn.com/saintl01.jpg "13kb jpg Saint Lucy of Syracuse holy card holding a palm of martyrdom")
An ancient symbol of victory. It was adopted by the early Christians to represent the triumph of the faithful over the enemies of the soul. They are the special badge of martyrs, and the Congregation of Rites in 1688 regarded the representation of a palm on a catacomb tomb as proof that a martyr was interred there, but this was later declared untenable.
The palm tree gives shade and fruit, and hence is emblematic of God’s protection and grace.
Palm branches carried by the faithful on Palm Sunday are retained, burned, blessed and form the ashes used in the following year’s Ash Wednesday services.
In art, the palm is an emblem of
- Saint Andeolus of Smyrna
- Saint Angelus of Jerusalem
- Saint Ansanus the Baptizer
- Saint Bacchus
- Saint Barbara
- Saint Bavo of Ghent
- Saint Dorothy of Caesarea
- Saint Emerentiana
- Saint Felicity of Rome
- Saint Foillan of Fosses
- Saint Fortunatus of Aquileia
- Saint Gervase
- Saint Hermagorus of Aquileia
- Saint Justus of Trieste
- Saint Mark the Evangelist
- Saint Martina
- Saint Maurice
- Saint Natalia
- Saint Oswald of Northumbria
- Saint Protase
- Saint Reparata
- Saint Secundus of Asti
- Saint Sigismund of Burgundy
- Saint Stephen the Martyr
- Saint Tarcisius
- Saint Terence of Todi
- Saint Torpes of Pisa
- Saint Winifred of Wales
