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Liberius
Head of the Catholic Church from 352 to 366
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 27 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
310
Died
366
verified
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Liberius, a Roman deacon, became pope in 352 during the Arian crisis. He was exiled by Emperor Constantius for refusing to condemn St Athanasius, and returned in the third year.
Pope St Anastasius I named him among those who would have died rather than blaspheme Christ with the Arians, and St Ambrose remembered him as an exceedingly holy man. He died in 366.
The miracles
The Catholic Encyclopedia does not describe how he came to be honoured as a saint.
Why that counted as sanctity
A pope who suffered exile in the Arian crisis.
Connected on this site
- Anastasius I Saint“Pope St Anastasius I named him among those who would have died rather than blaspheme Christ with the Arians, and St Ambrose remembered him as an exceedingly holy man.” — this site's research
- Julius I Saint“According to the Catalogus Liberianus, he was consecrated on 22 May as the successor to Julius I.” — Wikipedia
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Pope Liberius
- Wikidata Q102105 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Pope Liberius (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.