Juliana of Liège

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Saint

Juliana of Liège

O.Praem.
Blessed Sacrament

Juliana of Liège (also called Juliana of Mount-Cornillon), (c. 1192 or 1193 – 5 April 1258) was a medieval

canoness regular and mystic in what is now Belgium. Traditional scholarly sources have long recognized her as the promoter of the Feast of Corpus Christi, first celebrated in Liège in 1246, and later adopted for the Catholic Church in 1264. More recent scholarship includes manuscript analysis of the initial version of the Office, as found in The Hague, National Library of the Netherlands (KB 70.E.4) and a close reading of her Latin vita, a critical edition of which was published in French by the Belgian scholar and current (2023) bishop of Liège, Jean-Pierre Delville
.

Newer scholarly work notes the many references to her musical and liturgical performances. Modern women scholars recognize Juliana as the "author" of the initial version of the Latin Office, Animarum cibus Archived 2023-04-08 at the Wayback Machine, which takes its title from the beginning of its first antiphon.

Biography

Juliana and her twin sister Agnes were born in the village of

canonry seems to have been established on the model of a double monastery, with both canons and canonesses, each living in their own wing of the monastery. The two girls were initially placed on a small farm next to the canonry. Juliana, after entering the Order at the age of 13,[2] worked for many years in its leprosarium
. Agnes seems to have died young, as there is no further mention of her in the archives.

From her early youth, Juliana had great veneration for the

historiated initial
letter of her vita as it appears in Paris, Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal (MS 945, fol. 2).

Around 1225, she was elected

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and finally pope, ruling under the name Pope Urban IV
. Canon John reportedly relayed Juliana's vision to these distinguished religious leaders. These theologians agreed unanimously that there was nothing in the devotion of the feast contrary to the Catholic faith and endorsed instituting it.

Upon receiving approbation from local religious authorities, Juliana set to work with Canon John, who was still a young man, and together they composed the initial version of the office, Animarum cibus. This early office can be found in the composite manuscript, The Hague, National Library of the Netherlands (KB 70.E.4). In 1246, Bishop Robert instituted the first feast of Christ's Body and Blood for his own diocese. He died later that same year, however, and never saw it completed, though the feast was celebrated by the canons of St. Martin.

Juliana's life was filled with tumult, largely as a consequence of the religious and political controversies rampant in Liège: an emerging urban

Bishop of Liège, Juliana was vindicated and restored to her former position in the canonry. Roger was deposed. In 1247, however, upon the death of Bishop Robert, Roger once again regained control of Mont Cornillon under the new bishop, Henry de Gueldre, and Juliana was again driven out. These events in Juliana's biography, to a certain extent, point to the larger historical backdrop of rivalry over the vacated bishopric, amplified by the excommunication of Frederick II by Pope Innocent IV
.

Thereafter Juliana found refuge in the

Beguines. Aided by Abbess Imene, who was the sister of Archbishop Conrad of Cologne, Juliana took up residence at the Cistercian Abbey of Salzinnes, and finally Fosses-la-Ville, in the County of Namur, where she lived in seclusion until her death. On her deathbed she asked for her confessor, John of Lausanne, supposedly to reveal to him long hidden secrets. But neither he nor any of her friends from Liege arrived.[6] Upon her death, based on her wishes, her friend, the Cistercian monk Gobert d'Aspremont, moved her body to Villers Abbey. On the following Sunday her remains were moved to the section of the cemetery reserved for saints. Although her cult developed immediately, it did not receive official recognition until 1869 under Pope Pius IX
.

Veneration

In 1261, the Archdeacon Pantaleon was elected Pope, and took the name Pope Urban IV. In 1264, Urban IV instituted the Solemnity of Corpus Christi on the Thursday after Pentecost as a feast for the entire Latin Church, by the papal bull Transiturus de hoc mundo.[3] He commissioned his chief theologian, Thomas Aquinas, to compose an office for the Feast of Corpus Christi. Thomas composed two versions, with considerable textual overlap: Sapiencia edificavit (no Latin misspelling here) and then Sacerdos in eternum. The inter-textual study of these Offices has been the topic of considerable research, with most scholars concluding that they represent "draft" and final versions of the work of Thomas. Pope Urban recorded the initial celebration in letters to the various clergy, but also sent a copy to Juliana's friend, Dame the recluse Eve of Saint Martin at St. Martin Basilica. She is thought by contemporary scholars to have composed the initial version of Juliana's vita in French and thus stands, alongside Juliana, as among the first women authors of medieval Europe.

The first formal theological statement of the doctrine of transubstantiation can be found in the homily by Thomas in the Sacerdos in eternum version as found in BNF 1143 (a musical manuscript devoted entirely to the office). Scholars have also noted the movement from doctrinal to biblical versions in the Office texts. And, stylistically, Juliana's version sets known texts to new music; the Aquinas version rearranges biblical quotations to known chants, thus creating contrafacta. In 1264 Pope Urban IV issued the papal bull Transiturus in which the Feast of Corpus Christi, i.e., the feast of the Body of Christ was declared a feast throughout the entire Latin Rite.[7] This was the very first papally sanctioned universal feast in the history of the Latin Rite.[8] The feast is traditionally celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, but in the liturgical reforms of 1969, under Pope Paul VI, the bishops of every nation have the option to transfer it to the following Sunday.

Juliana was canonized in 1869 by Pope Pius IX and further celebrated by Pope John Paul II, who wrote a letter mentioning her on the 750th anniversary of the Feast of Corpus Christi. Her feast day is the 6 April.[2]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Juliana of Liège.
  1. ^ Scholars of the Premonstratensian Order, however, place the monastery in the French commune of Saint-Broing, in the Department of Haute-Saône, near the Swiss border.See Archived 2009-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Nobertine Vocations "Corpus Christi & St. Juliana of Liège"". Norbertinevocations.wordpress.com. 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  3. ^ a b "Benedict XVI. General audience address of 17 November 2010, dedicated to St. Juliana". Zenit.org. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  4. ^ McPortland, Joanne. "Juliana of Liege", Aleteia, May 29, 2016
  5. ^ "Mershman, Francis. "St. Juliana of Liège." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 18 Jun. 2013". Newadvent.org. 1910-10-01. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  6. ^ Delville, 1999, Vie de Sainte Julienne de Cornillon
  7. ISBN 0-271-02924-2
    page 12
  8. ISBN 0-19-513886-4
    , page 248
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Juliana_of_Liège&oldid=1263185322"