Blessed Juliana of Liege

Blessed Juliana of Mont Cornillon, also known as Juliana of Liege (1193-1258) was born near Liege, Belgium. She was orphaned at the age of five and placed in the convent of Mt. Cornillon near Liege. She made rapid progress in virtue and grew in love for the Passion of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Blessed Sacrament. At the age of thirteen she became a nun and devoted herself to caring for the sick in the convent hospital. She eventually became the superioress of her community. Taught in repeated visions that Our Lord wanted a liturgical feast in honor of the Holy Eucharist to be established, she worked diligently to have the feast of Corpus Christi instituted for the Universal Church, a task for which she endured much opposition. She was forced to flee her convent after its general superior excited the populace against her and her visions. She was later vindicated by the bishop and returned to her rightful place, only to be forced to flee a final time, ending her life in seclusion. The feast of Corpus Christi was finally instituted six years after her death by Pope Urban IV, who also commissioned Saint Thomas Aquinas to prepare the magnificent texts for the feast's Office and Mass. Her feast day is April 6.