A Christian mother martyred at Tarsus with her small son Cyricus, one of the most beloved mother-and-child martyr pairs of antiquity.

Saint Julitta was a Christian laywoman who died as a martyr at Tarsus, in present-day Turkey, in the year 304, during the persecution of Diocletian, together with her young son Cyricus (also called Quiricus), whose martyrdom alongside his mother made them one of the most widely venerated mother-and-child martyr pairs in the early Church.

Quick Facts

• Died: 304, Tarsus, Turkey
• Venerated as: Layperson; mother of St. Cyricus; martyr
• Feast Day: June 16 (with St. Cyricus)

Who Was Saint Julitta?

According to ancient tradition, Julitta fled with her infant or young son Cyricus during the Diocletianic persecution, only to be recognized, arrested, and brought before the local governor. When Julitta refused to renounce Christ, tradition holds that even her small child cried out in protest at the injustice being done to his mother, and both mother and son were put to death together.

Historical Setting

Tarsus, the birthplace of St. Paul the Apostle and an important city of Roman Cilicia, was deeply affected by the empire-wide Diocletianic persecution that swept through Asia Minor beginning in 303, a persecution notable for showing no exception for women, children, or the elderly among those who refused to comply with imperial religious demands.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Julitta

The Church remembers Julitta and her son Cyricus as an especially moving example of shared martyrdom across generations, their story spreading rapidly across the Christian East and West in the centuries following their deaths, inspiring devotion in churches from Asia Minor to medieval France and Spain, where their names are still preserved in numerous place names.

Canonization and Feast Day

No formal canonization process is recorded for Julitta, as is standard for a saint of this era; her veneration rests on ancient and very widely spread local cult, received through the Church’s liturgical memory. Her feast, kept together with St. Cyricus, is traditionally observed on June 16.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Julitta’s witness alongside her small son speaks powerfully to parents about the possibility of passing on unwavering faith even to very young children by example, and reminds all believers that a mother’s fidelity to Christ can become the very thing that gives a child courage in the hardest moment.

A Prayer to Saint Julitta

Saint Julitta, faithful mother who did not waver even as your child stood beside you, pray for all mothers striving to raise their children in the faith today. Help them to trust that the example of quiet, steady conviction speaks more powerfully to a child than any words. Amen.

Sources

• Roman Martyrology
• Butler’s Lives of the Saints, revised edition