St. Luoc

Saint Luoc was an Irish man, who was the first Christian missionary to reach Sodor.

Biography
Saint Luoc was a 5th Century Irish missionary of the ”St Patrick school”. Legend has it that he and his companions set out for the Isle of Man in coracles. Luoc fell asleep and was blown off course. He woke to an empty sea, but standing up he saw land on the horizon. He pointed his staff towards it, and was brought miraculously to shore in Suddery Bay.

Seeing him to be quite unarmed and fearless the natives treated him kindly. They helped him build a Keeill (a chapel and a cell or hut in which to live). He preached to them with considerable acceptance. A small church was built on the site in the 10th century, and would later be replaced by a cathedral started by Bishop Rolf in 1071. St Luoc's Cathedral is now considered the Church of Sodor. Visitors can see the surviving stonework of his Keeill in the crypt of the Cathedral.

Suddery's Coat of Arms perpetuates the legend of his arrival; the saint is shown arrayed as a bishop in cope and mitre standing in a coracle holding a crozier. The city’s motto is Luoc Sodoris Lux (Luoc the light of Sodor).

Appearances
Railway Series=

Companion Volumes

 * 1987 - The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways