Blessed Julian of Saint Augustine

The years of youth are dangerous; Julian, who feared the world and its pleasures, spent them in innocence and purity. As he earnestly commended the salvation of his soul to God, heaven inspired him with the thought of entering the Discalced Fathers of the province of Saint Joseph; he obeyed this inspiration from above, and was received with joy by the religious of the Order of Saint Francis. He showed such extraordinary fervor in his novitiate that the superior took it for exaltation; he became afraid of it and dismissed the novice. This was a hard trial for the blessed Julian, but he submitted to the will of God, and despite his dread of the dangers that awaited him in the world, he returned to his former state in the town of Santorcaz, belonging to the archbishopric of Toledo. Father Francis of Torres, a Franciscan, w Le P. François de Torres Franciscan who took Julian under his protection to evangelize Castile. as then evangelizing Castile; he came to preach in the town where Julian lived, and struck by his pious appearance, proposed that he help him in the salvation of souls. Julian accepted, took a pilgrim's habit, and set off. He was seen in all the towns that Francis of Torres traveled through, going through the streets with a bell in his hand, and exhorting the faithful to go to the church to hear the Father; he did this in Medinaceli where he had aspired to the honor of being a religious; he did it with great humility and simplicity; few admired him, many mocked him and called him a madman. To the latter, he replied with a smile and with gentleness: Yes, I have become a madman, but a madman for the love of God. Father Torres contemplated him with joy, and when he had studied him well and had assured himself of his vocation, he had him received into t he convent of Our Lady of Salced couvent de Notre-Dame de Salceda Monastery where Julian was finally received and made his profession. a to the great joy of the Blessed Julian.

The servant of God resumed his penances and austerities; he did such extraordinary things that his brothers were frightened by them, and the superiors, while marveling, doubted the soundness of his judgment. As he invented some extraordinary penance every day, he was eventually believed to be mad, and once again he was put out of the convent. This new blow was very painful to him, without, however, discouraging him; he resumed his secular clothes and built himself a small hut on the top of a mountain near the monastery, where he spent his days and nights in prayer. However, his self-denial and his persevering virtue contributed over time to having his merit recognized. The doors of the convent were reopened to him, where he came every day to ask for alms after having left to attend to the needs of the religious and faithfully handed over to the porter brother everything that had been given to him. At the end of a year, he made his solemn profession.

Then he gave free rein to his fervor and his love of austerities; he covered his body with instruments of torture; he ate only once a day a little bread and herbs, and allowed himself only a few hours of sleep; he spent his nights in the church, and when sleep was stronger than his will, he would lean against a wall or a confessional and sleep for a few hours. When he was outside the convent, he slept wherever he happened to be, and often at night he was seen, in the middle of the fields, rapt in ecstasy and surrounded by a celestial light. Father Torres having taken him to accompany him on his missions, his life was an eloquent sermon, and when necessary God placed on his lips words capable of melting the most hardened hearts. Often the scholars of the University of Alcala consulted him on difficult passages of the Holy Scripture, and they always returned astonished by his simple and luminous explanations. One day when young people on their way to a dance had refused to listen to him, birds were seen gathering around him at his call, paying attention to the words he addressed to them, and dispersing at the command he gave them, filling the air with their joyful songs. All the animals showed themselves docile to his voice, and if space permitted, we could report a thousand graceful and charming traits on this subject. The fame of his miracles and his holiness spreading everywhere, reached the ears of Queen Margaret, mother of Philip IV, who wished to see the Blesse d one. It was a sad la reine Marguerite Queen of Spain, mother of Philip IV, who wished to meet the saint. day for Julian when he had to, obeying the orders of his superiors, go to the court. He was so confused by the care and attention he received that his embarrassment prevented him from saying a single word. However, the moment of his death was soon to arrive; he knew it, for God had revealed it to him. Having fallen ill on the way, he was brought back to the convent almost in agony, and, as people were worried about him, he announced that he still had five years to live, and, indeed, he recovered against all expectations. This time having elapsed, he fell ill again two leagues from Alcala; he dragged himself with difficulty to his convent, where he did not want to be carried. At the moment of dying, he showed great fear of the judgments of God; and, after having received the last sacraments, he surrendered his soul to God on April 8, 1606. The eagerness that took place around his deathbed compelled his brothers to leave his body for eighteen days without burial. During all this time, his limbs retained their suppleness and exhaled a most sweet odor. The miracles that took place at his tomb carried his name to the ends of Spain. Julian was beatified by Leo XII.