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Reigned 253-254; died atRome, 5 March, 254. After the death ofSt. Cornelius, who died in exile in the summer of 253, Lucius was chosen to fill his place, andconsecratedBishop of Rome. Nothing isknown of the early life of thispope before his elevation. According to the"Liber Pontificalis", he was Roman born, and hisfather's name was Porphyrius. Where the author obtained this information is not known. Thepersecution of theChurch under the Emperor Gallus, during whichCornelius had been banished, still went on. Lucius also was sent into exile soon after hisconsecration, but in a short time, presumably whenValerian was made emperor, he was allowed to return to his flock. The Felician Catalogue, whose information is found in the"Liber Pontificalis", informs us of the banishment and themiraculous return of Lucius: "Hic exul fuit et postea nutu Dei incolumis ad ecclesiam reversus est."St. Cyprian, who wrote a (lost) letter of congratulation to Lucius on his elevation to theRoman See and on his banishment, sent a second letter of congratulation to him and his companions in exile, as well as to the wholeRoman Church (ep. lxi, ed. Hartel, II, 695 sqq.).
The letter begins:
Beloved Brother, only a short time ago we offered you our congratulations, when in exalting you to govern HisChurchGod graciously bestowed upon you the twofold glory of confessor andbishop. Again we congratulate you, your companions, and the whole congregation, in that, owing to the kind and mighty protection of our Lord, He has led you back with praise and glory to His own, so that the flock can again receive its shepherd, the ship her pilot, and the people a director to govern them and to show openly that it wasGod's disposition that He permitted your banishment, not that thebishop who had been expelled should be deprived of hisChurch, but rather that he might return to hisChurch with greater authority.
Cyprian continues, alluding to the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, that the return from exile did not lessen the glory of the confession, and that thepersecution, which was directed only against the confessors of thetrueChurch,proved which was theChurch ofChrist. In conclusion he describes thejoy ofChristianRome on the return of its shepherd. WhenCyprian asserts that the Lord by means ofpersecution sought "to bring theheretics to shame and to silence them," and thus to prove where theChurch was, who was her onebishop chosen byGod'sdispensation, who were herpresbyters bound up with thebishop in the glory of thepriesthood, who were the real people ofChrist, united to His flock by a peculiarlove, who were those who were oppressed by their enemies, and at the same time who those were whom theDevil protects as his own, he obviously means theNovatians. Theschism ofNovatian, through which he was brought forward asantipope, in opposition toCornelius, still continued inRome under Lucius.
In the matter of confession and the restoration of the"Lapsi" (fallen) Lucius adhered to the principles ofCornelius andCyprian. According to the testimony of the latter, contained in a letter toPope Stephen (ep. lxviii, 5, ed. Hartel, II, 748), Lucius, likeCornelius, had expressed his opinions in writing: "Illi enim pleni spiritu Domini et in glorioso martyrio constituti dandam esse lapsis pacem censuerunt et poenitentia acta fructum communicationis et pacis negandum non esse litteris suis signaverunt." (For they, filled with the spirit of the Lord and confirmed in gloriousmartyrdom, judged that pardon ought to be given to theLapsi, and signified in their letters that, when these had done penance, they were not to be denied the enjoyment of communion and reconciliation.) Lucius died in the beginning of March, 254. In the "Depositio episcoporum" the "Chronograph of 354" gives thedate of his death as 5 March, the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum" as 4 March. The first date is probably right. Perhaps Lucius died on 4 March and was buried 5 March. According to the"Liber Pontificalis" thispope was beheaded in the time ofValerian, but this testimony cannot be admitted. It istrue thatCyprian in the letter toStephen above mentioned (ep. lxviii, 5) gives him, as well asCornelius, the honorary title ofmartyr: "servandus est enim antecessorum nostrorum beatorum martyrum Cornelii et Lucii honor gloriosus" (for the glorious memory of our predecessors the blessedmartyrsCornelius and Lucius is to be preserved); but probably this was on account of Lucius's short banishment.Cornelius, who died in exile, washonoured as amartyr by the Romans after his death; but not Lucius. In the Roman calendar of feasts of the "Chronograph of 354" he is mentioned in the "Depositio episcoporum", and not under the head of "Depositio martyrum". His memory was, nevertheless, particularlyhonoured, as is clear from the appearance of his name in the "Martyrologium Hieronymianum".Eusebius, it istrue, maintains (Church History VII.10) thatValerian was favourable to theChristians in the early part of his reign. The emperor's firstpersecution edict appeared only in 257.
Lucius was buried in a compartment of thepapal vault in thecatacombs of St. Callistus. On the excavation of the vault, de Rossi found a large fragment of the original epitaph, which only gives thepope's name in Greek: LOUKIS. The slab is broken off just behind the word, so that in all probability there was nothing else on it except the title EPISKOPOS (bishop). Therelics of thesaint were transferred byPope Paul I (757-767) to the church of San Silvestro in Capite, or byPope Paschal I (817-824) to the Basilica of St. Praxedes [Marucchi, "Basiliques et eglisesde Rome", Rome, 1902, 399 (inscription in San Silvestro), 325 (inscription in S. Praxedes)]. The author of the"Liber Pontificalis" has unauthorizedly ascribed to St. Lucius adecretal, according to which twopriests and threedeacons must always accompany thebishop to bear witness to his virtuous life: "Hic praecepit, ut duo presbyteri et tres diaconi in omni loco episcopum non desererent propter testimonium ecclesiasticum." Such a measure might have beennecessary under certain conditions at a later period; but in Lucius's time it was incredible. This allegeddecree induced a laterforger to invent anotherapocryphaldecretal, and attribute it to Lucius. The story in the"Liber Pontificalis" that Lucius, as he was being led to death, gave thearchdeacon Stephen power over theChurch, is also a fabrication. The feast of St. Lucius is held on 4 March.
Liber Pontificalis, ed. DUCHESNE, I, XCVII, 153; ALLARD, Histoire des persecutions, III (Paris, 1887), 27 sq.; DE ROSSI, Roma sotterranea, II (Rome, 1867), 62-70; JAFFE, Regesta Rom. Pont., 2nd ed., I, 19-20; WILPERT, Die Papstgraber und die Caciliengruft (Freiburg im Br., 1909), 19.
APA citation.Kirsch, J.P.(1910).Pope St. Lucius I. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09411a.htm
MLA citation.Kirsch, Johann Peter."Pope St. Lucius I."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 9.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09411a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Herman F. Holbrook."Prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for Peter."
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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