Roman Catholic Pope and Saint. He was consecrated as pope in June 253 upon the death of his predecessor, St. Cornelius, but died less than a year later. His papacy was characterized by the political and religious controversies resulting from the persecution of Christians in the third century. During the persecution of Decius (249-51), many Christians had lapsed and had begun to worship pagan idols. Later, during the pontificates of Cornelius and Lucius, the question became whether those who had lapsed could be forgiven and readmitted to the Church. Cornelius and Lucius both held the liberal position against the stricter policy of a theologian named Novatian, who believed the lapsed had forfeited their place in the Church and the kingdom of God. As positions hardened, Novatian was set up as an anti-pope by some of his followers and was still holding sway when the papacy passed from Cornelius to Lucius. However, he died not long after Lucius was consecrated. Like his predecessor, Lucius was exiled by Gallus and spent time at the Italian city of Civitavecchia before being allowed to return to Rome under Emperor Valerian, who came to power in October 253. Lucius was known to the well-known theologian Cyprian (200-258), who is known to have written him three epistles: first, a letter of congratulations upon his consecration; second, a letter of support during his banishment; and third, another congratulatory letter upon his return to Rome, which Cyprian deemed a victory not for Lucius alone, but for Christendom generally. Cyprian also wrote to Lucius’ successor, Pope Stephen I, referring to Lucius as a martyr, though this is generally believed to be a reference to his exile rather than to an execution. Upon his death, Lucius was originally buried with other popes in the catacombs of St. Callistus in Rome but was transferred either to the church of San Silvestro in Capite by Pope Paul I (757-67) or to the Basilica of St. Praxedes by Pope Paschal I (817-24) before reaching his final burial place at Saint Cecilia as arranged by Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605). Lucius is the patron saint of Copenhagen, and his feast is celebrated March 4.