| Saint Julia of Corsica | |
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 The Crucifixion of Saint Julia, by Hieronymus Bosch |
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| Died | 5th century or ~616 AD |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | May 22 |
| Attributes | depicted being crucified |
| Patronage | Corsica; Livorno; torture victims; pathologies of the hands and the feet |
 Saints Portal |
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Saint Julia of Corsica (Italian: Santa Giulia da Corsica) (perhaps 5th century; date of death sometimes given as ca. 616-620) was a virgin martyr who is venerated as a Christian saint. She, along with Saint Devota, is one of the patron saints of Corsica. Her feast day is May 23.
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Legend
Julia was a noble Carthaginian girl who was sold as a slave after Gaiseric captured Carthage in 439. She performed all of her menial tasks with patience and cheerfulness. Her master, a Syrian merchant named Eusebius, impressed with her virtues, took her with him on a voyage to Gaul. On the way, a stop was made at Cape Corso in northern Corsica. There, a pagan festival was being celebrated. Julia, refusing to both disembark and participate, remained on board. The governor of the island, Felix, guessed rightly that Julia was a Christian. He ordered her to sacrifice to the gods. Julia refused, even after Felix offered her her freedom if she apostatized. Eusebius had attempted to protect her, but while he was drunk and asleep, Julia was tortured by having all of her hair pulled out and crucified.
Historicity
She may have lived in the 6th or 7th centuries and killed by Moors rather than the Roman authorities.[1] Some scholars believe that Julia was indeed of Carthaginian origin, but that she died in Africa during the persecutions of Decius (ca. 250 AD) or Diocletian, and that her association with Corsica derives from the fact that her relics were brought to this island during the invasion of Africa by the Vandals under Gaiseric, who was of Arian faith.[2]
Veneration
Monks from Gorgona Island rescued her relics. According to legend, attached to Julia's cross was a note, written in an angelic hand, that carried her name and story. The monks transported the relics to a sepulchre on their island after cleaning it and covering it with pleasant aromas. In 762, Desiderius, king of the Lombards, at the request of his queen Ansa, translated her relics to the Benedictine abbey at Brescia. At Brescia, around 763, Pope Paul I consecrated a church in Julia's name. It became a popular site for pilgrimage in the Middle Ages.
