,_cappella_sx_di_san_saturnino,_nicchiette_03_lucifero_di_cagliari.jpg){kind=link}
Lucifer of Cagliari
4th-century bishop of Cagliari, Sardinia
Feast: 20 May (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari, was sent by Pope Liberius in 354 to ask the emperor for a council about St Athanasius. At Milan he defended Athanasius with great passion, and was maltreated and exiled to Syria, Palestine and the Thebaid.
In exile he wrote an eloquent but violent defence of the Catholic faith. He later took an extreme line against any who had compromised with Arianism. He died in 371.
The miracles
The Catholic Encyclopedia does not describe how he came to be honoured as a saint.
Why that counted as sanctity
A fiery bishop who suffered exile for the Nicene faith.
Connected on this site
- Gregory of Elvira Saint“He took the strict view of Lucifer of Cagliari that no communion should be held with any who had been tainted by Arianism.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Lucifer of Cagliari
- Wikidata Q715214 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Lucifer of Cagliari (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.