ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER
Saints celebrated on the 16th of October
Junianus (commemorated on October 16), also called Ninianus or Vivianus by one of the hagiographers, was an anchorite in the French region of Limoges (Lemovicum), a disciple of Saint Amandus. The life life of the latter is so closely connected to that of the former that the Neo-Bollandists* provide both biographies together according to a written codex from Cluny, after having first eliminated the error that this Saint Amandus, whose feast is actually celebrated on August 26, is identical with Saint Amandus. Our Saint Amandus is said to have been the son of a Hungarian king, or, as the Bollandists* correct, perhaps the son of a general who fought under Attila, the destroyer of Gaul, and he himself is said to have fought under the Gothic king Alaric or the Frankish king Clovis. In any case, according to the codex mentioned, he was of high birth and lived at the time of the Gothic king Alaric II, who began to reign in 484.
Now, around the time when the holy Bishop of Rheims was preaching and the Frankish king Clovis was baptized (496 A.D.), our Saint Amandus left all he had and, in order to serve God undisturbed, went to a lonely place called Commodoliacus (later Saint Junian), which belonged to Saint Ruricius I, Bishop of Limoges. There he built a hut on the side of a mountain not far from the city of Limoges, on the border of the province of Poitou, near the rivers Vienne (Vigenna) and Glane (Glana), surrounded by desolate rocks. While he was leading a solitary, pious life entirely dedicated to God, he was discovered by shepherds, through whom his fame spread so widely that Saint Ruricius (Roricius) also ended up learning of this and immediately had a small cell built for him.
After Saint Amandus had lived thus for some time and had fought many a battle with the enemy of salvation, a pious boy named Junianus came to him, knocked on his cell, and asked to be taken in. However, the saint, suspecting a deception by the enemy, did not open the door immediately, but left him standing outside for one day and one night. It is said that it snowed all night without Junianus getting wet, which is why a festival was later celebrated in Limoges under the title S. Juniani a Nivibus, i.e., "St Junian of the Snows" (Saint Junien des Neiges).
When Amandus had finally convinced himself of the boy's good intentions, he gladly admitted him and showed him the ways of salvation. And Saint Junianus who, after all,had left his parents and everything to strive for higher perfection,made such progress in all virtues, especially in humility, that he not only imitated his teacher, but, inspired by divine love, even surpassed him.
After Saint Amandus died around the year 500, his holy disciple Junianus buried him honourably in the rocky cave where he had previously lived. Junianus then led the hermit's life for a long time on his own in his cell, distinguished by all Christian virtues, so that his reputation soon spread throughout the entire region. Many people flocked to him to commend themselves to his prayers. Once, a large snake appeared near his cell, terrifying the local inhabitants who visited him, even killing some of them, but it was rendered harmless by his prayers and the Sign of the Holy Cross. According to legend, at his command, the snake fled through the Poitiers region and entered the sea near Sables-d'Olonne (Arenae Olonenses) (in the Vendée department).
Several other miracles are also told of him. When a plague struck many people on the border of Poitiers, Saint Junianus was asked for help in this emergency. Through his intercession a spring came forth in his cell, just as it did from the rock in the case of Moses, and its water cured all those who drank of it in faith. Another time, also through his prayers, a blind man was completely healed of a serious illness; he restored another person who was lame and deaf as well, and the younger Ruricius, also called Proculus, who later became Bishop of Limoges as Ruricius II, was cured of a serious illness. After he had performed several other miracles - some eyewitnesses are cited by Gregory of Tours in his De Gloria Confessorum (chapter 103) - Junianus finally died around the year 535, at the age of 55, of which he spent 40 years in solitary confinement. Thus, he would have been born around the year 480, and come to Saint Amandus at the age of 15. After his death, Saint Ruricius II wished to bring his holy body to Limoges, because so many miraculous healings continued to take place even at his grave.
Since this was not possible, however, he built a basilica in honour of Saint Andrew not far from Junianus' cell, where he solemnly buried him, not far from the thorn bush under which the saint used to say his prayers during his lifetime. The tomb itself was placed right on top of this thorn bush, which Ruricius had had cut down for this purpose. Since the roots remained in the ground, continued to grow, as was clearly noticed later. Through the alms of pious pilgrims, a small monastery gradually grew up there, and in 848 a famous monastery under the name of Saint Junian was established there. This monastery was destroyed by the Normans soon after but rebuilt around 880 A.D. Around 990, his holy remains were solemnly raised by Abbot Itherius and placed on the high altar with great ceremony on January 26. Around 1014, the church was restored and consecrated by the Provost Saint Israel. On October 21, 1102, his body was again transferred, along with the bodies of Saint Amandus (who was discovered on August 26, 1075, by Provost Amelius and Canon Ramnulphus of St Junien at the instigation of Abbot Saint Hugh of Cluny), and of Ruricius II, who was buried next to his friend Junianus. Several miracles are listed that are attributed to the intercession of Saint Junianus.
Even during the French Revolution, his relics remained undisturbed and were ceremoniously put on display in 1820. A town had already grown up around the monastery, which takes its name Saint Junien (urbs S. Juniani) from our saint. It is situated in the department of Haute-Vienne, right where the Glan flows into the Vienne, and currently has 7,000 inhabitants. The Neo-Bollandists* quote an old office of Saint Amandus on pages 845 ff., in which much of his life and that of his holy disciple Junianus are described. Many miracles are mentioned there that occurred at the tomb of Saint Amandus during and after its discovery and transfer to the tomb of Saint Junianus on August 26, 1075. The latest directories of Limoges mention the feast of Saint Junianus also on October 16, while that of Saint Amandus is not included there. (VII. 835-851).
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 3, Augsburg, 1869, pp. 545-47 - 📷 On the tympanum of the collegiate church of Saint-Junien, statue of Saint Junianus slaying a dragon (Saint-Junien, Haute-Vienne)
*A hagiography source used by the authors
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Junianus 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.
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org
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