June 16: Quiricus and Julita, Martyrs

Mother and son united in faithfulness to Christ

Quiricus and Julita were two martyrs of the 4th century: a mother and her three-year-old son, killed together in Tarsus, in what is now Turkey. Julita was a noblewoman of royal lineage from Iconium in Lycaonia, a central region of present-day Turkey.

At the outbreak of Diocletian’s persecution, Julita, recently widowed, left her home with her son and two maidservants, setting out for Seleucia, in the region of Isauria.

However, she found that the persecution had already reached that city so she decided to continue her journey and head toward Tarsus, in Cilicia. There, she was recognized as a Christian and denounced.
At that time, the governor of Isauria, Alexander, happened to be in Tarsus and had Julita arrested. While the two maidservants fled at the sight of the soldiers, Julita, unwilling to be separated from her child, was taken to prison.

Brought before the court, Alexander interrogated her at length, but her only reply was: “I am a Christian.” She was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan gods, but refused. The governor then commanded that she be tortured and separated from her son. Hearing his mother repeat, “I am a Christian,” little Quiricus began to repeat the same words. Enraged, Alexander hurled the child to the ground, killing him instantly.

Julita, in the agony of witnessing her son’s death, was then beheaded. Their bodies were left outside the city.
That night, the two maidservants recovered their remains and buried them. During the reign of Emperor Constantine, one of the servants revealed where she had hidden the bodies, and from that time on, Quiricus and Julita were venerated as martyrs.