The Chiesa di San Geremia is popular as the seat of the cult of Saint Lucy of Syracuse, whose remains are housed inside. The first church was erected here in the 11th century, and was later rebuilt on several occasions.
The church, also called Saints Jeremiah and Lucia, is located in the Cannaregio sestiere, at the confluence of the Grand Canal with the Cannaregio Canal.
In 1206 it is mentioned to house the remains of St. Magnus of Oderzo (died 670), who had taken refuge in this area from the Lombards. A first rebuilding was held under doge Sebastiano Ziani, the new church being consecrated in 1292. The current edifice dates from 1753, designed by Carlo Corbellini; the façade is from 1861. The brickwork bell tower (probably dating from the 12th century) has two thin Romanesque mullioned windows at the base.
The interior has rather sober walls. The altar and its presbytery are notable, with two statues of St. Peter and St. Jeremy Apostle (1798). A work by Palma the Younger (The Virgin at the Incoronation of Venice by St. Magnus) decorates the fourth altar.
The church is object of pilgrimages and wide devotion for the presence of the relics of Saint Lucy, which were carried here in 1861 when the old church dedicated to her was demolished to expand the railway station. The incorrupt body of the saint, patron saint of sight, is found in a glass urn at the head of the temple, surrounded by a multitude of votive offerings and offerings from the faithful. In 1955 Angelo Roncalli, future Pope John XXIII and then Patriarch of Venice, had a silver mask put on the saint's face to protect it from dust.
The saint's body was stolen on July 7, 1981, but was restored in December of the same year without any ransom.
Map of San Geremia Church