Saint Julia of Corsica

As she was perfectly well instructed in the maxims of Christianity, and knew the lesson that the prince of th e Apostles gives t prince des Apôtres Apostle mentioned for the setting of the procession date. o servants, both men and women, to be submissive to their masters, not only when they are good and modest, but also when they are of a troublesome and difficult temper; she performed her duty so well, and took such care of the household, that her master had no reason to complain of her: on the contrary, seeing that after her work she applied herself to prayer and reading, and that she mortified her body with continual fasts and vigils, he had compassion on her and exhorted her to spare herself a little. But the love of God and the desire to suffer for His glory prevented her from relaxing any of her austerities, and it was only on Sunday, because of the resurrection of Our Lord, that she took a little more food.

Eusebius, whose occupation was to trade in various countries, embarking to carry goods to Gaul, took his slave with him. When his ship was near Corsica, he brought it close to the northern point, called today Cap-Corse, and disembarked. He joined the inhabitants of the land, who were celebrating a festival in honor of their gods, and who were going to sacrifice a bull to them.

Julia kept herself apart so as not to participate in this ceremony; she could not even help but loudly lament the impiety and extravagance of the pagans. Felix, governor of the island, was s oon informed of the genero Félix, gouverneur de l'île Priest tasked with carrying the relics and the pope's letter. us freedom with which she had expressed herself. He asked the merchant who this woman was who dared to speak thus against the gods. Eusebius told him that she was a Christian whom he had never been able to persuade to change her religion; that, moreover, he found her very faithful and very exact in her duty, and that he would never take it upon himself to send her away.

Felix proposed to Eusebius to hand her over to him, and offered him four of his best slaves in exchange. "All your wealth," the latter replied, "would not suffice to pay what she is worth; I would sacrifice what I hold most dear and precious to keep her." Felix did not stop there; he invited Eusebius to dine with him and gave orders for him to be made drunk. When he saw him asleep, he sent for Julia and told her that if she would offer a sacrifice to the gods, he would undertake to set her free. The Saint rejected this proposal with horror. "I am free," she replied, "as long as I serve Jesus Christ, and whatever may happen to me, I will never buy my freedom through a cowardly apostasy." The governor, who felt defied by such a bold response, first ordered that her cheeks be struck with several blows that bloodied her mouth and her entire face. Then he had her inhumanly pulled by the hair and whipped with such barbarity that her body was completely torn. Finally, he had her attached to a cross, so that she might end her life by the same torment that her God and her Spouse had ended His. Julia felt extreme joy at this, and considered it more glorious for her to mount this gibbet than the first throne in the world. The cross was indeed the instrument of her happiness, and it served as a step for her to ascend more easily to the place of eternal rest. Her soul departed from her body in the form of a dove, thus marking that in the midst of the temptations of the world and the dangers of a servile condition, she had preserved her chastity inviolable. Eusebius, upon waking and learning what had happened, did not dare to seek vengeance: he needed the governor's support for his business!

After her illustrious martyrdom, angels warned religious men who resided on the island of Gorgona, or Margarita, to travel to Corsica to remove her precious body. They immediately set out to sea, arrived at the island that had been indicated to them; and, having found the body still hanging from the cross, they detached it and brought it to their monastery. However, in the course of time, Ansa, wife of Desiderius, King of the Lombards, had a magnifice nt chur Brescia City of origin of Blessed Sebastian Maggi. ch built in Brescia, a city in Italy, where she had her bones transferred (766). Today, Corsica has the illustrious patrician of Carthage as its patron saint. She is also particularly honored in Brescia and Bergamo in northern Italy.

The dove that emerges from her mouth and takes flight toward heaven to indicate the departure of her soul, the crucifix placed in her hand, or the cross to which she is attached to signify her martyrdom, are the attributes of Saint Julia in the arts.

Such is the abridged history of this illustrious Martyr, according to her Acts, published by Dom Ruin Dom Rutnart Benedictine hagiographer, editor of the Acts of the Saints. art. The examples of her fidelity, her chastity, and her invincible courage in enduring torments for the cause of the faith must serve as a great instruction to all Christian handmaidens.