Longinus

Roman soldier, and saint, who pierced the side of Jesus

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Lived 100–100, aged 0Italy

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37 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
100–100
Aged 0

Summary

Updated 2026-06-11

The Roman soldier who stabbed Jesus on the cross, then — depending on which medieval text you read — looked up and declared him divine. The lance became a relic. The man became a saint.

Biography

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The Gospels don't name him. The apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus does: Longinus. Some versions fold him together with the centurion who spoke at the Crucifixion, the one who called Jesus the son of God — making him one of Rome's first converts on the spot. What began as a spear thrust recorded in the Gospel of John grew across centuries into full conversion legend. The lance he carried became the Holy Lance in Catholic tradition, credited with opening the last of Christ's Five Holy Wounds. By the Middle Ages the story had hardened into veneration: Longinus was claimed as a saint across the Roman…

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