The Devil and The Crucifixion: Was Lucifer around when Jesus was Crucified?

In the secret archives of the Vatican, a strange legend is preserved around a painting of the crucifixion of Jesus.

We may think that the Church has always covered its relics with a halo of mystery, but in this case it is the work itself  that generates the mystery, since -holds the legend- it would be the most faithful of the Passion of Jesus Christ, which makes it one of the most precious treasures of Christianity, but on the other hand there is the identity of its author, nothing less than Satan.

The history of this painting transcended thanks to a commentary by the scholar and Catholic priest Montague Summers, in his works: ”The History of Witchcraft and Demonology”, ”The Werewolf” and ”The Vampire: his Kith and Kin”.
Montague Summers tells the story of a young painter from the city of Prague, who loved excesses of all kinds and often indulged in every kind of passions.
It was thus that this young painter squandered his talent. The nights, long and sleepy, gave way to withered dawns, palely illuminating the absent canvases, empty of those ghosts that his tormented soul saw with diaphanous clarity, but incapable of transforming into art.
Plunged into dark thoughts, with a heart inclined to the most abject impiety, the young painter decided to surrender to the teaching of the Lord of the Underworld.
For long, torturous weeks he focused all his morbid will on making himself worthy of Satan’s presence.
On a gloomy November afternoon Satan finally heard his devotee’s invocation, and the pact was signed.
Satanic pacts, widespread in the period, are not a curiosity in medieval legends. Almost always the gifts that Satan offers his beloved reprobates consisted of material goods, revenge and, to a greater extent, the love of indifferent women. However, the story of the cursed painter from Prague is different from all of them
The young man agreed to surrender his soul to eternal torment, but first he asked Satan if he had been present at the time of Calvary.
The devil answered in the affirmative.
The pact was sealed, with some reluctance on the part of the Evil One, or at least that is what Montague Summers says, since what the young man wanted in exchange was a painting, a composition made by the hand of the Prince of Darkness, which faithfully represented the moment of the Crucifixion.
We do not know if the devil was surprised, or if he was secretly expecting such a request.
It is said that the painting was done in two hours. When it was finally delivered to the young man, he shuddered as he contemplated the footprints of the Passion. The mutilated and bleeding body of Jesus was motionless on the Cross; however, some bright and burning eyes seemed to shine illuminating the room.
Captivated by the sublime vision, the young painter prostrated himself and implored mercy.

Ecstatic and fearful, he begged God for the forgiveness of his soul.

Where was Lucifer at Jesus Crucifixion?

The repentant painter, in order to win absolution for such an atrocious guilt, confessed to a parish priest. He was forced to appeal to the Cardinal Penitentiary and the painting was placed in the prudent hands of the Holy Office.

Centuries later, the Barberini family is said to have obtained papal permission for an exact copy of the painting to be made. True or not, the copy was exposed to the public in the church of Santa Maria della Concezione, located in Via Veneto, Rome.

The location of the painting is currently unknown. Montague Summers never disputes its authenticity.

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