St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Lecco, a city in Lombardy, Italy. The city basilica was dedicated to him and there is a statue dedicated to him in the lake in the Punta Maddalena area. St. Nicholas was a saint venerated by the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and is known as St. Nicholas of Bari or St. Nicholas of Myra. He was born in the city of Patara in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey, around 260 AD and grew up in a virtuous climate. When he sadly lost his parents while still young, he decided to devote his inheritance to charitable works, such as saving three maidens from the fate of an unhonorable life. He later became bishop of Myra in 300 AD and suffered persecution by Emperor Diocletian in 303 AD. His remains were interred in Myra Cathedral and remained there until Myra fell to the Saracens. In 1087 a naval expedition departed from Bari to bring the saint’s relics back to Christian lands, and today the city of Bari holds half of the saint’s remains. The Basilica of Lecco houses as a relic of the saint the Manna of St. Nicholas, a very pure liquid in which the saint’s remains floated when sailors from Bari found his tomb. The statue of St. Nicholas in Lake Lecco was donated by parishioners of the Lecco Basilica to Provost Monsignor Giovanni Borsieri, who was celebrating the 25th anniversary of his pastoral presence in Lecco.
