The workers excavating around the Basilica of San Saturnino in Cagliari (Sardinia) in 1623 surely got quite a scare when they found a tomb with bones and a headstone that read Lucifer was buried there. Or maybe they couldn’t read. In any case, we can assume that Bishop Francisco de Esquivel, who was Spanish and the one behind the project, clarified to them that the deceased was not the devil—at least not the way they imagined—but rather a bona fide Catholic saint, so zealous in defending Catholicism against the Arian heresy that he eventually clashed with the Church and founded his own sect: the Luciferians.

Francisco de Esquivel was born in Vitoria in 1550 to a well-off family that provided him with a university education: in 1584 he earned a degree in Civil and Canon Law from the University of the Holy Spirit in Oñate (Gipuzkoa), where he later became a professor before taking on the roles of vicar general and judicial vicar of the Diocese of Ciudad Rodrigo. In 1595, he was appointed inquisitor in Mallorca. His capable work led Pope Paul V—who had good relations with Spain due to having served as papal legate to King Philip II—to entrust him with the bishopric of Cagliari a decade later.

On the Mediterranean island, he brought order to the somewhat lax local clergy, convened two synods, founded the island’s university and a seminary… But his most intense work was searching for relics of saints, in tense rivalry with the Archbishop of Sassari, who had just discovered the relics of Gavino, Proto, and Gianuario, martyrs of the Diocletian persecution. Esquivel ultimately won that curious contest by unearthing a good number of relics, for which he reserved a crypt in the Cathedral of Santa Maria of Cagliari. He called it the Sanctuary of the Martyrs and placed there the remains of Cesello, Camerino, Lussorio, Saturnino (who would become the city’s patron saint), and the subject of this article.

Saint Lucifer story
Saint Lucifer is buried in this chapel that bears his name, in the Sanctuary of the Martyrs (crypt) of the Cathedral of Santa Maria (Cagliari). Credit: Sailko / Wikimedia Commons

Of Lucifer (or Lucifero), neither his birthplace nor birthdate is known, though it is estimated around 290 A.D. In fact, we have no information about his life until he appears in history in 354, already as bishop of Cagliari, sent by Pope Liberius to Constantius II to request the convening of a council to defend Athanasius of Alexandria from the condemnation being pushed by Arians among the Western bishops. The theologian Arius proposed that Jesus had only a human nature and not a divine one, having been created by God—an idea condemned at the Council of Nicaea in 325. But the emperor sympathized with Arianism, as did many bishops, and so Athanasius, who refused to accept this, was accused of heresy.

The Council of Arles in 353 ratified that condemnation, despite dissenting voices like Lucifer’s and his friend Eusebius of Vercelli, who insisted on their protests. As noted, the Supreme Pontiff allowed them to persuade Constantius II to convene a new council to settle the issue once and for all. It was held in Milan in 355, but they clashed with the imperial decision to uphold Athanasius’s disgrace, forcing him into exile. Lucifer, who refused to sign the decree, was confined in the palace for three days and then exiled, along with other dissenters like Eusebius, Dionysius of Milan, Hilary of Poitiers, Hosius of Córdoba, and even Pope Liberius himself.

His first destination was Germanicia Caesarea, today the Turkish city of Kahramanmaraş, where he was received by Eudoxius of Antioch, who would later become Archbishop of Constantinople and ironically embrace Arianism. From there, Lucifer went to Palestine, settling for a time in Eleutheropolis (modern-day Beit Jibrin in Israel), where he wrote Ad Constantium Augustum pro Sancto Athanasio Libri II, a work in which he defended his stance in a tone consistent with his fiery temperament. He then traveled to Thebes, Egypt, from where he sent numerous letters to the emperor reaffirming his faith and declaring his willingness to suffer martyrdom.

Such measures were unnecessary, as he, like the other exiles, was allowed to return following the death of Constantius II in 362. Although he was succeeded by Julian II the Apostate, that emperor ruled only a couple of years before dying in battle against the Parthians. The throne then passed to Jovian, who abolished all the anti-Christian decrees of his predecessor, reinstated Christianity, and again favored Catholicism, absolving Athanasius and returning him to his archiepiscopal seat. At a council held in Alexandria in 362, Athanasius showed willingness to reconcile with the Arians and forgive the repentant in order to avoid schisms. However, Lucifer opposed this; for him, apostasy and heresy were equally grave—a threat to religion and the Church.

Saint Lucifer story
Church of San Lucifero in Cagliari. Credit: Gianni Careddu / Wikimedia Commons

That’s why he refused to go to Alexandria in person—he sent some deacons instead—and preferred to travel to Antioch, where he ordained as bishop the deacon Paulinus, leader of the Eustathians, who were faithful to Nicene orthodoxy, unlike the conciliatory faction represented by Bishop Meletius, a former Arian. Since Lucifer had no authority to make such an appointment, Eusebius of Vercelli tried to mediate, but his efforts were futile in the face of his old friend’s stubbornness, ending their friendship. The headstrong Lucifer then returned to Cagliari, refusing to accept the resolutions of the Alexandrian council, which he saw as mere irenicism (a conciliatory attitude adopted among Christians of different confessions to examine the issues that divide them).

The fact is that it had been decided to restore the bishoprics to the Arians, something to which he was radically opposed; Eusebius as well, although the latter did at least agree to grant them a pardon. From that point on, everything becomes unclear. Saint Augustine, Saint Jerome, and Saint Ambrose suggest in their works that he was excommunicated. Why? Because, determined not to yield to Arianism, he gathered his followers—including several bishops who had gone into exile with him years earlier—and went to his episcopal see in Sardinia, where, before dying around the year 370—during the reign of Valentinian I—he founded a semi-schismatic sect, whose members are popularly known as Luciferians.

We say “semi” because Lucifer could never be reproached for violating any dogma, beyond his stubborn refusal to accept the legitimacy of repentant Arians and the decisions of the Council of Alexandria. That did not prevent them from receiving harsh criticism, such as those directed at them by Saint Jerome in his work Dial; in it, he refuted their insistence on denying the right of Arians who admitted their error—and of the bishops who listened to them—to return to the bosom of the Church, arguing that they had the legitimacy to do so because they had not renounced Catholicism, but had merely strayed; and he added, significantly, that the council understood it that way.

The Luciferians spread beyond their original insular nucleus, taking root especially in Hispania, where their main follower was Gregory of Elvira; it is true, however, that they were never numerous nor influential. Nevertheless, they did not abandon their objective, and the most prominent among them—Hilary, Faustino, Marcelino—repeatedly submitted petitions to the emperors Theodosius, Valentinian, and Arcadius, insisting that Saint Athanasius, Pope Dionysius I, Saint Hilary of Poitiers, and all those who defended the reconciliation of the Arians had betrayed Catholicism and, consequently, refused to have dealings with them. Ironically, the Visigoths, who adhered to Arianism, would settle on Hispanic soil in the mid-5th century.

Saint Lucifer story
Relief with the portrait of St. Lucifer in the chapel of St. Saturnino of the Sanctuary of the Martyrs of Cagliari. Credit: Sailko / Wikimedia Commons

At this point, some may wonder how it is possible that such a recalcitrant figure as Lucifer came to be considered a saint. The truth is, not exactly, since he was never formally canonized, but rather a tradition developed in that direction. It was somewhat uncomfortable for the Church, which saw how some Luciferian bishops of Sardinia wrote in favor of his sainthood while others wrote against it. He was not without merit, for as we said, he never strayed from Catholic dogma, which he defended with fanatical rigorism, according to Saint Jerome, and even schismatic zeal, in the words of Saint Ambrose.

He was also a scholar who handled both Latin and Greek well, who wrote a Vita S. Eusebii Vercellensis (“Life of Saint Eusebius of Vercelli”, a biography of his old friend, reputed to be well-documented) and eight other works (all written after his exile, in the form of discourses, related to the controversy that defined his life). For all these reasons, the Church of Cagliari established that his feast day be celebrated on May 20. The ensuing controversy led Pope Urban VIII, in 1621, to order both parties to remain silent on the matter until the Holy See made a decision, although the Bollandists (a society formed in the 17th century by Jesuits and dedicated to gathering data on Catholic saints) believe that the pope was referring to a different Lucifer, martyred by the Vandals.

The fact is that two years later, the matter still lingered enough for Francisco de Esquivel to excavate and find the tombstone mentioned at the beginning. The inscription read: Hic iacet BM Luciferus Arcepis Callapitanus Primarius Sardine et Corice.ca fl s r me eclesiae que vixit.annis LXXXI.K.Die XX mai. If the abbreviated words are fully expanded, it would be Hic jacet bonae memoriae Luciferus, Archiepiscopus Callaritanus, Primarius Sardiniae et Corcicae, carissimus filius Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae, que vixit annis LXXXI, K.Die XX mai, which translates as “Here lies Lucifer, of good memory, Callaritan archbishop, primate of Sardinia and Corsica, most beloved son of the Holy Roman Church, who lived 81 years, day 20 of the calends of May.”

The relics of Lucifer—probably fake—were deposited in the Sanctuary of the Martyrs, arranged ad hoc in the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Cagliari. At the entrance to that crypt is also the tomb of its discoverer, Monsignor Esquivel, who died the year after his discovery without seeing his requests to return to Spain fulfilled.

This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on June 16, 2025: Lucifer de Cagliari, el extraño santo que fundó su propia secta luciferiana

SOURCES

Mauro Todde, San Lucifero di Cagliari Vescovo

Antonio Piras, Il simbolo di Nicea Secondo un’a antica versione latina in Lucifero di Cagliari (parc. 18.16-36)

Lamberto de Echeverría, Bernardino Llorca y José Luis Repetto Betes, Lucifero de Cagliari, santo

Wikipedia, Lucifer de Cagliari

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