Julián of Cuenca ( 1127 – 28 January 1208), also known as Saint Julián, was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

who served as the

Bishop of Cuenca The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuenca ( la, Conchen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Cuenca in the Ecclesiastical province of Toledo in Spain.

from 1196 until his death. He also served as a professor and preacher in addition to being a simple hermit. He became a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

after the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

were driven from Cuenca and he made pastoral visits to the people in his diocese where he fed prisoners and provided grain for the poor farmers. But he never forgot his desire to live in solitude and made annual trips where he could best find silence before reemerging to resume his episcopal duties. His canonization was solemnized on 18 October 1594.

Life

Julián was born in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of t ...

to the nobleman Tauro. He studied at the cathedral school there before he studied at the

University of Palencia The University of Palencia was the first university of Spain. It was founded by Alfonso VIII at the request of Bishop Tello Téllez de Meneses. It was the model upon which the University of Salamanca was patterned. Study began to flourish in Pal ...

where he earned his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

. He was appointed a professor in the

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

departments in Palencia in 1153. During his time in

Palencia Palencia () is a city of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Palencia. Located in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in the northern half o ...

he worked as a basket-maker and maker of other trade goods in order to earn extra income for the poor as well to support himself. In 1163 he left Palencia and his teaching duties to live a life of solitude in a modest house outside Burgos located on the banks of the Arlanzón. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood in 1166 after having received the

minor orders Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lecto ...

. He and his companion Lesmes lived a life of mortification and

contemplation In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...

. He and his friend took to the road as itinerant preachers and reached both Córdoba and Toledo in 1191. But this solitude and travelling ended in 1191 when the

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

Martín II López de Pisuerga appointed Julián as the

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

at Toledo. He exercised his administrative duties but continued preaching as well as making baskets in order to generate income for the poor. Julián served as the archdeacon until the

Bishop of Cuenca The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuenca ( la, Conchen(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Cuenca in the Ecclesiastical province of Toledo in Spain.

Juan Yáñez died and

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

chose Julián to succeed Yáñez in 1196. The Archbishop of Toledo conferred

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

upon him that June. Julián was known for his almsgiving and he visited the poor in prisons. His outreach to all faiths was great as was his desire to make pastoral visits to see the faithful in his diocese. He often offered grain to the poor to alleviate their suffering and also aided the poor peasant farmers in the region. He continued to preach while he went about reforming the practices of the diocesan priests in addition to engaging with charities to better help the poor. He likewise supported these charities to provide for the needs of his flock in addition to the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

. On an annual basis he would retire to live a life of solitude and contemplation and continued his habit of making baskets. There is a legend associated with him that

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

appeared to him in the guise of a beggar in order to thank him. He died in his diocese in 1208; his remains were housed in the

Cuenca Cathedral Cuenca Cathedral is a Gothic cathedral in the city of Cuenca, located in the Province of Cuenca in the Castile-La Mancha region of south-eastern central Spain. The building is one of the earliest Spanish examples of Gothic architecture, bui ...

but reinterred under an altar made in his honor in 1578 at the same cathedral.

Canonization

His canonization was solemnized under

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

on 18 October 1594. His relics were housed in a casket underneath the altar dedicated to him and Bishop Inocencio Rodríguez Díez authenticated the relics; Díez served as the diocesan bishop from 1943 until 1973. His name would be included in the Roman calendar in the 1590s.

References

External links

Saints SQPN

Catholic Online

Santi e Beati

{{DEFAULTSORT:Julian of Cuenca 1120s births 1208 deaths 12th-century Christian saints 12th-century people from León and Castile 12th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Spain 12th-century venerated Christians Basket weavers Bishops of Cuenca People from Burgos Spanish hermits Spanish Roman Catholic saints Venerated Catholics

Life

Canonization

See also

References

External links