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Saint Julia
Saint Julia

Saint Julia

Feast Day
May 23, 2013
Patronage
Corsica, Torture Victims, Pathologies of the Hands and Feet
<p>St. Julia, also known as St. Julia of Corsica, was a virgin martyr who is venerated as a saint.&nbsp; The date of her death is most probably on or about 439.&nbsp; She along with St. Devota, are the patron saints of Corsica.&nbsp; She was declared a patroness of Corsica by the Church on August 5, 1809, and St. Devota on Mary 14<sup>th</sup>, 1820.&nbsp; Both of these were martyred in pre-Christian Corsica under Roman rule.&nbsp; Although Julia is included in most summary lives of the saints, the details somewhat vary.&nbsp; A few basic accounts emerge, that tell us the story.&nbsp; Bishop Victor Vitensis of Africa wrote most of the story, from her time, while investigating her cause.&nbsp; His story is supported by physical evidence, the relics, and a small collection of human bone fragments, which were housed at the former Church of Santa Julia, in Brescia, Italy, now a part of the city&rsquo;s museum. &nbsp;</p> <p>St. Julia became venerated as a saint, due to the accounts of Victor Vitensis, a Bishop from Africa.&nbsp; He wrote the &ldquo;History of the Persecution of the Province of Africa in the Time of Geiseric and Huniric, Kings of the Vandals&rdquo;.&nbsp; In 429 Geiseric and 80,000 tribesmen, crossed suddenly from Spain to Africa and in 439 took Carthage by surprise.&nbsp; Attempting to convert Christians to Arianism he committed such acts, as the Bishops of the Church were able neither to forget nor to condone.&nbsp; In the next generation Victor Vitensis set about a thorough, investigative manner to record them.&nbsp; His account is considered a source of good history. &nbsp;</p> <p>Julia was a beautiful, young Carthaginian girl who was &ldquo;led from it a captive&rdquo; and her lot was that she came into the service of a man name Eusebius.&nbsp; Bishop Vitensis does not say how she came into service, but it is implied she was sold as a slave after Gaiseric captured Carthage in 439.&nbsp; It is known that he disposed of many Christians in this way, especially women.&nbsp; As a young and strong female, Julia would have brought a good price for the Vandals.&nbsp; Her master was described as a &ldquo;fleshly master&rdquo;, using her for his desires.&nbsp; When her own duties were done and she was granted the servant&rsquo;s time off.&nbsp; She spent her spare time reading or praying.&nbsp; She grew pale and thin from fasting, despite the threats of her master.&nbsp; Her mind however, was intent on Heaven, being fed daily on God&rsquo;s words. &nbsp;</p> <p>Eusebius was a citizen of Syria in Palestine, and was on a ship headed for Gaul with a load of expensive cargo, and was anchored for the night.&nbsp; From a distance he saw the sacrifices that were being conducted by the pagans and immediately descended with all his people to attend.&nbsp; They were slaying a bull to their &ldquo;devils&rdquo;.&nbsp; They became intoxicated, and discussed that he was not able to remove the &ldquo;religious superstition&rdquo; from the young girl, Julia.&nbsp; Eusebius said that if it were not for her &ldquo;useful&rdquo; services, she would have already been tortured.&nbsp; A man named Felix Saxo gave him the option to either have her offer up a sacrifice to their gods, or he would take her in exchange for 4 of his best girls.&nbsp; Eusebius told him all his property would not cover the value of her services. &nbsp;</p> <p>Eusebius became intoxicated and fell into a deep sleep.&nbsp; A raging mob boarded the ship and placed Julia on the shore.&nbsp; Felix told her to Sacrifice to the gods, and he would give her master as much as he likes and dissolve her bond of slavery.&nbsp; Julie replied, &ldquo;My liberty is the service of Christ, whom I serve every day with a pure mind.&nbsp; As for that error of yours, I not only do not venerate it, I detest it&rdquo;. &nbsp; He ordered her to be struck with blows to the face, but she accepted them, just as Christ suffered blows to His face.&nbsp; He became angry, and order that she be tortured by having all her hair pulled out.&nbsp; She was then flogged cruelly. &nbsp; Fearful that Eusebius would be awakened, he ordered her to be place on a cross to be killed, to speed up the process.&nbsp; As Eusebius was waking up, &ldquo;Julia&rsquo;s mind was released from the flesh, victorious over her suffering, and took happy flight with the angels to the stars of Heaven&rdquo;. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Monks from Gorgona Island rescued the young saints relics.&nbsp; Legend tells us that attached to Julia&rsquo;s cross was a note, written in an Angelic hand, that carried her name and entire story.&nbsp; The monks transported the relics to a sepulcher on their island after cleaning her corpse and covering it with pleasant aromas.&nbsp; In 762, her relics were transferred to the Benedictine Abbey at Brescia, and in 763 Pope Paul I consecrated a Church in Julia&rsquo;s name.&nbsp; It became a popular site for pilgrimages in the Middle Ages. &nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></span></p> <p>St. Julia was a virgin martyr who is venerated as a saint.&nbsp; The date of her death is most probably on or about 439.&nbsp; She along with St. Devota, are the patron saints of Corsica.&nbsp; She was declared a patroness of Corsica by the Church on August 5, 1809, and St. Devota on Mary 14<sup>th</sup>, 1820.&nbsp; Both of these were martyred in pre-Christian Corsica under Roman rule.&nbsp; Although Julia is included in most summary lives of the saints, the details somewhat vary.&nbsp; A few basic accounts emerge, that tell us the story.&nbsp; A Bishop of Africa wrote most of the story, from her time.&nbsp; She was captured as a slave from Carthage, and was taken to Africa to serve her Master&rsquo;s &ldquo;fleshly needs&rdquo;.&nbsp; When refusing to make sacrifices to their pagan gods, she was beaten, flogged and crucified.&nbsp; She was a beautiful young girl that didn&rsquo;t compromise for her faith, and an early saint of our Church. &nbsp;</p>