August 31 Saint Julian - Patron Saint's Day
Saint John the Hospitaller
According to legend of Nordic origin, Julian was born on 13 or 29 January of the year 631 in Ath (Belgium) to a noble family. The young man was violent and easy to anger and it is said that during a hunting trip a dying deer predicted that he would kill his parents.
The grim prophecy came true, some years later, when his parents arrived at his castle while he was away on a hunting trip and his wife, a noble widow he had met in Spain, offered them their wedding bed for the night. In the morning, Julian returned home and believing his wife to be with a lover drew his sword and killed them.
To atone for his guilt, he moved to Italy with his wife and began a long pilgrimage, from Sicily to Aquileia, to the banks of the river Potenza, which was navigable at the time, where he ferried travellers and pilgrims offering them assistance for the rest of his life.
During one crossing, his boat risked capsizing and he held the hand og a leper to keep him from falling into the water. This leper, who then spent the night in his bed, turned out to be an Angel sent by God to tell him that his penance had been accepted and he would soonhave his eternal reward together with his beloved bride.
