Here we report a novel Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆O:Ce³⁺ phosphate phosphor, consisting of an apatite structure, whose emission peaks under excitation with near-ultra violet light were found to shift from 410 nm (blue light) to 510 nm (yellowish-green light) with an increasing Ce³⁺ doping level due to the Ce³⁺ at the different concentrations preferentially occupying different crystallographic sites.