In May 1887, Father Julian’s health begins to seriously deteriorate. He returns to Sydney, where he is cared for by a group of women led by Gertrude Abbott, at 561 Elizabeth Street, before his death at the age of 56.
Clothed in the Passionist habit, he is buried from St Mary’s Cathedral on 9 October 1889 with 30 Sisters of Saint Joseph attending. Members of the scientific community also attend his requiem and later erect a monument over his grave at Waverley Cemetery.