LUKE, archbishop of COSENZA. - Some call him Campanian, others Cosentino. He was a Cistercian at Casamari when Abbot Gioacchino da Fiore arrived there to meet Pope Lucius III at Veroli. On that occasion, he was employed by the latter as a scribe and later appointed abbot of Sambucina in 1197.
He founded the abbey of Acquaformosa, enriched with goods and privileges by the Normans. Elected archbishop of Cosenza in 1203, he was entrusted with various and delicate missions by the Popes. Innocent III entrusted him with the preaching of the Crusade in Calabria and Sicily; Honorius III and Frederick II chose him as arbiter in disputes between the Basilians of Patrigno and the Florensians of S. Giovanni in Fiore over the Sila pastures. In February 1222, he solemnly inaugurated the cathedral of Cosenza, which he had rebuilt, in the presence of Frederick II, who gave him as a gift a precious Byzantine enamelled statuette collection. He died in the reputation of sanctity in 1224. Several works remained in manuscript; his biography of Gioacchino da Fiore is the principal source for the life of the celebrated prophet.