Saint Julia of Troyes

At that time, the Germans made frequent raids into Gaul, sometimes to plunder, sometimes to conquer. In one of these expeditions, a prince named Claude or Claudian, who led a troop of these marauders, directed his march around 247 toward Troyes, which was then under Roman rule. He took several captives there, among others Julie, eighteen years old and remarkable for th e bea Julie Virgin and martyr from Troyes of the 3rd century. uty of her face, which was further enhanced by an angelic modesty. The young girl's charms touched the prince's heart: he resolved to marry her. But he did not reveal his designs to her until, having arrived in his own country, he persuaded himself that the softness and pleasures of the palace would make an impression on the young virgin. He expected a triumph. But the servant of Jesus Christ answered him with as much courage as gentleness:

"For a long time, I have chosen my Spouse, my Lord and my Master; it is to Him that I have consecrated my entire life, to Him that I have entrusted my soul. His angel is always with me, and if an impure love were to make you attempt anything against my person, he would soon avenge upon you the injury you would have done me." At these words, Claude flew into a rage: "And who is this spouse more noble than I?" he cried. "Who is the one he has charged to avenge upon me the injury I might cause you? Moreover, what wrong can I do you by taking you as my wife, you who are but my slave?" But the intrepid virgin answered him without being moved: "My Spouse and my Master is Jesus Christ, who is in the heavens, and whose nobility and power surpass those of the greatest monarchs. It is to Him that I have vowed my virginity. Would it not be an affront to Him to take away the one He has deigned to choose for His spouse?" — "You are then a Christian?" Claude asked her. "You have said it, I am a Christian," replied Julie; "and if you yourself embrace the religion of Jesus Christ, He will assist you in all the circumstances of your life."

These answers, full of a noble independence, filled Claude with respect and fear. From then on, he began to honor his captive. He had a secluded apartment prepared for her in his palace, with an oratory, and he forbade the officers of his household from entering it. He showed even more delicate attentions, and, in order to allow Julie to attend more freely to her pious practices, he gave her several young girls of high birth to keep her company and render her the services she might need.

Our Saint became an apostle in the midst of these young idolaters, and soon the palace of the infidel prince was like a temple of the true God, from which the harmony of sacred canticles and the pure incense of prayer rose to heaven.

The shadows of night brought rest and sleep to Julie's companions; but the fervor of the young virgin still prolonged the time and the prayer. It was then that she freely poured out her soul before the Lord, that she blessed Him a thousand times for having deigned to look upon her even in her exile, for having preserved her from the danger of losing both her faith and her chastity in the midst of an infidel people, and for having inspired her master with so much kindness and consideration for her. Indeed, the prince never undertook anything without consulting his captive. He loved to converse with her, and although he did not yet share her religious beliefs, he did not fail to often recommend himself to her prayers.

He was soon to experience the effects of his conduct toward Julie. His enemies were overflowing from all sides onto his lands; they were going to attack him even in his palace, if he did not promptly oppose them with victorious arms. He had to leave. But he did not want to set out on a campaign before having secured the prayers of Julie: "You know," he said to her, "the rest I have given you in my palace and the honor I have shown you, without ever troubling you. Today, I must go to war: enemies, jealous of my crown, wish to steal it from me. Implore, therefore, for the prosperity of my arms the God whom you serve; if I return victorious and without injury, I will honor you more than ever upon my return, I give you my word." — "Go with confidence," Julie replied to him; "I am going to pray to my God, and you will return covered in the laurels of victory."

Claude set out on his campaign, encountered his audacious enemies, and cut them to pieces. He returned triumphant to his palace, proclaiming everywhere that he owed it to the prayers of Julie, more than to his own valor, to have defeated adversaries whose multitude should have crushed the weakness of his troops. From then on, his veneration for Julie increased every day, and he looked upon her, no longer as his slave, but as his protectress and his sovereign.

It would be too long to report all the blessings that the presence of the Trojan virgin drew upon Claude; suffice it to say that, every time he undertook some war, he always won a brilliant victory over his enemies, because Our Lord always granted the requests of his humble and faithful servant.

Twenty-eight years passed in this way. Finally, the Lord appeared to Julie: "Arise," He said to her, "do not remain any longer in this place; but return to the city of Troyes, from where you were taken captive; it is there that, to the crown of virginity, you will join the palm of martyrdom." Julie arose immediately, and, filled with new courage after this celestial vision, she went to find the prince and communicated to him the designs of God for her.

"What!" said Claude with sadness, "you are leaving! To whom then do you leave me in care? What will become of me? Are you not my guardian angel?... If you leave, my enemies, no longer fearing your prayer, will fall upon me like an easy prey, and they will soon put me to death... No! I would rather abandon everything and follow you." — "Leave then your goods and come with me," replied Julie; "for I hope that the Lord my God will cast a favorable gaze upon you and your people."

Immediately Claude abandoned his house, his wife and his children, his gold and his numerous possessions, and set out on the road with the servant of God. He was no longer a barbarian, he was a faithful Christian; he was no longer a cruel wolf, he was a docile sheep placing himself under the guidance of a virgin.

Finally, they arrived in Troyes, where the persecution of Aurelian was raging Aurélien Gallo-Roman nobleman and ambassador of Clovis. with extreme violence. In her native city, Julie's zeal did not remain inactive. She consoled the faithful imprisoned for the faith; she softened for them, through her words and her help, the rigors of the tyrant. Her intrepid courage was soon noticed, and the emperor's satellites seized her one day and brought her into the presence of their master. The president Elidius was charg ed with Elidius President charged with interrogating Julia. interrogating her.

"You adore Christ, whom you say is your Spouse?" he asked her. "Yes," replied Julie, "I confess that Jesus Christ is my Lord; for I do not adore impure demons." — "Go," said the president to his soldiers, "stretch her on a rack and place burning coals on her back." But scarcely had she been placed on the instrument of torture than her executioners were struck with blindness and cried out: "Julie, help us!" Others came to beat her with ox-hide whips; but their efforts were useless. The impious Aurelian, seeing the constancy of the virgin, said to her: "Sacrifice to the gods, or, I swear it, you will die this very day by the sword." — "The death of love that the God-Man endured for my salvation," replied Julie, "demands from me death for his love. Thus I am ready to suffer everything for my Lord Jesus, and I hope that, after these light combats, He will be willing to give me an imperishable crown of life." Then the emperor had her head cut off.

As soon as Cla Claude One of the five martyr sculptors, particularly honored in Franche-Comté. udius learned of the terrible execution, he went to find Aurelian and said to him: "Order that I die with her, for she served as my master in her religion." — "Who are you?" Aurelian said to him. "My name is Claudius," he replied, "and I took Julia into captivity when I was fighting against the Romans. Her God has showered me with blessings through her intercession; I adore this one God and I have left everything for Jesus Christ." — "But you are not a Christian," replied Aurelian. "How can you die for this religion?" — "It is true," replied Claudius, "that I have not been baptized; but I firmly believe that if I shed my blood for the name of Jesus Christ, I will be truly Christian, and that, thanks to the merits and prayers of his glorious martyr Saint Julia, God will not disdain to admit me into the presence of his sovereign Majesty.

Then Aurelian pronounced his sentence and had him beheaded, outside the city walls, at the very place where Saint Julia had endured martyrdom a few hours earlier. It was the 12th of the Kalends of August, that is to say, July 21 of the year 275.

Upon returning to the praetorium, the Emperor Aurelian found twenty other Christians, companions of Saint Julia and Saint Claudius; he condemned them also to death, and they received the palm of glory at the very place where Saint Julia was buried. The names of several of them have been preserved for us; they were: Justus, Jucundinus, Ternus, Antonius, Herenus, Theodorus, Dionysius, Apollonius, Apamia, Pionicus, Custion, Papyrus, Saturius, and Secundinus; the names of the other six are inscribed in the Book of the Lamb, who has deigned to grant them the crown of eternal life.

As soon as Saint Julie and Saint Claude had been martyred, the Christians of Troyes dug a pit at the very place of their torment, and buried the holy bodies, leaving a space of about ten paces between them. Later, the precious remains were exhumed and placed in a stone sepulcher.

[APPENDIX: CULT AND RELICS.]

In the 12th century, one could see, next to these tombs, a monastery whose nuns, called the Filles-Dieu, had dedicated themselves to the guardianship of these sacred relics. But, as the frequent wars, of which the city of Troyes was the theater, often disturbed their pious exercises, they resolved to seek more peaceful lands. They cast their eyes upon the monastery of Jouarre, in the diocese of Meaux , and withdrew there monastère de Jouarre Place of initial formation for Saint Bertille. with the bones of the Trojan Martyr: this was around the year 1233.

Alise, abbess of the convent, had the body placed in an artistically crafted reliquary, enriched with silver plates and precious stones. One could see represented there the various circumstances of the life of Saint Julie. Her head was enshrined separately in a gilded silver reliquary that could still be seen, in the last century, among the treasures of the collegiate church of Saint-Étienne.

One hundred years later, the remains of Saint Claude were also transported to the same place: it seemed that these two servants of Jesus Christ, who, after having shared the same struggles, had earned the same triumph, should not be separated after their death.

Saint Julie was invoked in public necessities, especially in times of contagion; Saint Claude particularly answered the prayers of warriors exposed to the hazards of combat. In 1628, two nuns of the monastery of Jouarre died of the plague, which was then claiming many victims. Alarmed by the ravages of the scourge, the abbess had the reliquary of Saint Julie carried solemnly into the middle of the cloister, and suddenly the plague disappeared.

This miracle and others further increased the veneration of the nuns of Jouarre for the virgin of Troyes: thus, they solemnly celebrated her feast with an octave.

Although the body of Saint Julie rested at Jouarre, the people of Troyes were not entirely deprived of the relics of their noble Martyr: the Filles-Dieu, upon withdrawing, had left several fragments behind. In 1590, the civil wars dispersed these venerated remains. The inhabitants of the Saint-Martin suburb then sent some of them to the abbess of Jouarre. They brought back, on September 3, 1599, a portion of the Saint's relics, which they placed in a small chapel that remained until 1833. At that time, the precious remains were transported to the parish church of Saint-Martin, where they receive from the faithful each year the tribute of an ardent and tender devotion. Finally, quite recently, Mgr Allou, Bishop of Meaux, responding to the pious desires of Mgr Ravinet, hastened to offer him new fragments of the relics of Saint Julie and her intrepid companion, Saint Claude; they were shared between the cathedral, Saint-Martin-ès-Vignes, and the chapel of the lycée.

At some distance from the chapel of which we have just spoken was the spring of living water that had gushed from the earth at the very place where the blood of the Martyr had flowed: it was called the Well of Saint Julie. People suffering from fever ca me with confidence to Puits de sainte Julie Miraculous spring that gushed forth at the site of the martyrdom. draw its water, and God often rewarded the ardent faith of the sick by restoring their health. The Well of Saint Julie, this pious testimony of the devotion of our fathers, was renewed several times, and its last state dated back to the year 1671; it disappeared along with the modest oratory. It is almost on its site that the current chapel of the lycée stands.

The only monument that recalls today the life and death of Saint Julie is at the parish church of Saint-Martin-ès-Vignes: it is, along with the altar dedicated to the virgin-martyr, a magnificent stained-glass window.

The Church of Troyes celebrates her feast on July 21.

Excerpt from the Life of the Saints of the Diocese of Troye s, by Abbé Defer, and from the Acta Vie des Saints du diocèse de Troyes Hagiographical work by Abbé Defer. Sanctorum.