Saint Julian of Le Mans (french: Saint Julien du Mans; la, Iulianus; 3rd century; perhaps 4th century) is a saint venerated in both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church, honored as the first bishop of Le Mans. His feast day is 27 January. The

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

of his relics is celebrated on 25 July.

Life

It is reported that he may have been a

Roman 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 letter ...

nobleman,Farmer, David. "Julian of Le Mans", ''Oxford Dictionary of Saints'', OUP, (5th rev. ed.) 2011
but he was also identified with

Simon the Leper Simon the Leper (Greek: Σίμων ὁ λεπρός, ''Símōn ho leprós'') is a biblical figure who lived in Bethany, a village in Judaea on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. He is mentioned in the Gospels according to Matthew and M ...

or as one of the seventy-two disciples of

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 of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

, in keeping with attempts to claim an apostolic origin for the see. He was consecrated a bishop at Rome and around the middle of the 3rd century, Julian was sent to

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

, along with the priest Thuribe and the deacon Pavace, to preach the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

to the tribe of the

Cenomani The Gaulish name Cenomani can refer to: * Aulerci Cenomani, an ancient Gallic tribe dwelling around modern Le Mans * Cenomani (Cisalpine Gaul) The Cenomani (Greek: , Strabo, Ptol.; , Polyb.), was an ancient tribe of the Cisalpine Gauls, who ...

. Their capital city was ''Civitas Cenomanorum'' (Le Mans), which was suffering from a shortage of

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

. According to the legends surrounding his life, Julian thrust his staff into the ground and prayed. Water began to gush out of the ground. This

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

allowed him to preach freely within Le Mans. The city's principal citizen was converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

along with his family, donating to the Church part of his

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

to serve as Le Mans' first cathedral church. Julian converted many other citizens and Le Mans' new bishop cared for the poor, the infirm, and the orphans. His miracles included the

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...

of a dead man. Upon reaching old age, he retired to live as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

at Sarthe.

Veneration

The

Cathédrale St-Julien Le Mans Cathedral ( French: ''Cathédrale St-Julien du Mans'') is a Catholic church situated in Le Mans, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Julian of Le Mans, the city's first bishop, who established Christianity in the area around the ...

, in Le Mans, is dedicated to him. The feast of St. Julian of Le Mans was celebrated in England because

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin king ...

had been born in Le Mans. His feast was kept throughout the south of England in at least nine

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

English monasteries. The Church of St. Julian in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

is likely dedicated to him.Butler, Alban. "Saint Julian, First Bishop of Mans, Confessor'. ''Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints'', 1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 25 January 2013
/ref> Having rested in a shrine at the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

convent of Notre-Dame-du-Pre since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, most of his relics were burnt or scattered by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

in 1562. Julian's head is still shown at the cathedral of Le Mans, where it has been since 1254.

References

External links

Catholic Online: Julian of Le MansSan Giuliano di Le Mans
{{Authority control 3rd-century deaths Bishops of Le Mans 3rd-century Christian saints Le Mans French hermits 3rd-century bishops in Gaul Gallo-Roman saints Year of birth unknown