ST JULIAN THE HOSPITALLER, PENITENT

ST JULIAN THE HOSPITALLER, PENITENT - 12 FEBRUARY

SAINT JULIAN THE HOSPITALLER, PENITENT

According to a legend, while Julian was a baby, he was cursed to one-day kill his own parents. His father wanted him killed, but his mother kept him alive. When he was old enough to learn of the curse, he left his family to preserve their safety.

WHEN HE WAS OLD ENOUGH, HE LEFT HIS FAMILY TO PRESERVE THEIR SAFETY

He married a widowed lady of a castle and lived quite happily until one day his parents, who never stopped looking for him, showed up in front of the castle. In his absence, his wife entertained his parents and - being a good and kind host - she let them sleep in the only bed, which she deemed to be the most comfortable resting place for the elderly couple. She herself, meanwhile, slept on rushes on the floor, which was the more common way to spend the night in castles (rather than in beds). When Julian came home the next day - quite late in the evening - he mistook the two for his wife and some lover he had hitherto not known about and killed them.

HE VOWED TO DEVOTE THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE IN GOOD WORKS

Realising his terrible error, Julian vowed to devote the remainder of his life to good works. He and his wife then set out on a pilgrimage to Rome as penance and finally settled by a river in a forest, where they ran a hospital for pilgrims and the sick (hence the nickname "Hospitaller"). The hospital was near a river that was frequently crossed by people travelling as part of the Holy Crusades. People frequently drowned crossing this river so Julian took responsibility of ferrying travellers across and tending to the sick.

THE BLOODY DEED WAS FORGIVEN

One day Julian took in a half-frozen leper, whom he tried to warm in his own bed. Then the poor man suddenly turned out to be our Saviour Jesus Christ, telling the couple that the bloody deed was forgiven and they would soon be leaving the world in peace.

A BIOGRAPHY IN VERSE

A biography in verse from 1200 makes Julian the son of the Counts of Anjou and serves to promote the Hospitaller Order. According to tradition, the hospital was near Saint-Gilles du Gard, where the pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem crossed. Gustave Flaubert made this version known in Saint Julian the Hospitable.

AN ARM RELIC

A relic of his left arm has been venerated in the Cathedral of Macerata, where Julian is said to have settled, since the 9th century.

In Rome, the Belgian-Flemish national church of San Giuliano dei Fiamminghi is dedicated to Julian.

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Julian may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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