Julia of Corsica

Julia Of Corsica

Saint Julia of Corsica (Italian: Santa Giulia da Corsica; French: Sainte Julie), also known as Saint Julia of Carthage, and more rarely Saint Julia of Nonza, was a virgin martyr who is venerated as a Christian saint. The date of her death is most probably on or after AD 439. She, along with Saint Devota, are the patron saints of Corsica in the Roman Catholic church. Saint Julia was declared a patroness of Corsica by the church on August 5, 1809; Saint Devota, on March 14, 1820. Both were martyred in pre-Christian Corsica under Roman rule. Julia's feast day is May 22 in the Roman Catholic calendar.

Saint Julia is included in most summary lives of the saints. The details of those lives vary, but a few basic accounts emerge, portraying biographical data and events that are not reconcilable. Various theories accounting for the differences have been proposed. The quintessential icon of Saint Julia derives from the testimony of Victor Vitensis, contemporaneous Bishop of Africa. It is supported by physical evidence: the relics, a small collection of human bone fragments, which are where historical events subsequent to the story say they ought to be, at the former Church of Santa Giulia in Brescia, Italy, now part of the city museum.

Saint Julia has been a popular representational theme. No physical description of her has survived. She has more recently been put forward as "black saint" merely because her native city, according to Vitensis, was Carthage (now Tunis), but that view is unsupported. North Africa under the Romans was multi-racial and still is to a large degree. Most representations, created by Europeans, depict a European.