Saint Philomena:

Feast day : 11 August

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Philomena, a young martyr and virgin who lived during the 3rd century. Her remains were discovered in the Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome in the year 1802. The symbols on the tiles of the tomb indicated that she was a virgin and a martyr and the inscription read as “Pax Tecum Filumena’ meaning ‘Peace be with you Philomena’. Later, she herself appeared to the Foundress of the Oblates of Our Lady of Sorrows, Mother Maria Luisa di Gesu', a Dominican Tertiary and revealed her story. Several miracles have been attributed to her intercession and many saints are known to have sought her intercession in their needs. Most famous among them were Saint John Marie Vianney, St. Anthony Mary Claret, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, St. Padre Pio, St. John Neumann and Pope Gregory XVI, Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII.

Discovery of relics:

On 24 May 1802, a chamber was found in the catacomb of Priscilla, Rome. In the chamber was a tomb with the inscription on three tiles that read ‘Pax tecum Filumena’ meaning “Peace be with you Philomena’. The symbols on the tomb indicated martyrdom and virginity – two anchors, a lance, an arrow pointing upward and another pointing downward, a palm and a lily. When the tomb was opened, they found the remains of a young girl. Further analysis on the remains confirmed that it belonged to a young girl, aged 13 years. In the tomb a broken vial of dried blood was also found which is believed to have been collected at the time of her death as was the custom of the early Christians at that time. It was concluded that the remains were of an early Church martyr and virgin named Philomena. The sacred remains were kept in Vatican till 1805.

In the year 1805, a priest from a town near Naples, Canon Francesco De Lucia of Mugnano del Cardinale requested relics of a Saint for his oratory. On 8 June 1805 the sacred remains of Saint Philomena were handed over to him. The relics arrived in Mugnano on August 10, and were placed in the Church of Our Lady of Grace. A new Church of Our Lady of Grace was built, containing a chapel where the sacred relics were moved on September 29, 1805. In 1827, Pope Leo XII gave to the church in Mugnano del Cardinale the three inscribed terracotta slabs that had been taken from the tomb.

Martyrdom:

Not much was known about Saint Philomena other than that she was a young virgin and martyr of the early Church until she appeared in a vision to the Foundress of the Oblates of Our Lady of Sorrows, Mother Maria Luisa di Gesu', a Dominican Tertiary. According to the revelation given to Mother Maria, Saint Philomena was the daughter of a king in Greece. Her parents were pagans who later converted to Christianity. They were childless for many years during which they were introduced to Christianity. After they converted to Christianity they were blessed with the birth of their daughter Philomena. They named her Lumena meaning daughter of light. When she was 13 years old, she travelled along-with her parents to Rome, to meet the Emperor Diocletian. Her father sought the Emperor’s favour in order to avoid an impending war.

Emperor Diocletian was mesmerised with the beauty of Philomena and asked for her in marriage in return for the favour her father had sought from him. Though her parents were overjoyed at the proposal, young Philomena refused to marry the Emperor citing the reason that she had consecrated her virginity to God. Her parents and the Emperor tried all means to convince her to give up her vow but failed to change her mind. She boldly proclaimed "My virginity, which I have vowed to God, comes before everything, before you, before my country. My kingdom is heaven."

Her refusal irked the Emperor and he ordered her to be bound in chains and put in prison. After 37 days in prison, Saint Philomena saw a heavenly light and a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus in her arms. The Blessed Virgin told her that she would be in prison for three more days and after that a more frightful event would come. But she was not to fear as the angel Gabriel would come to her aid. After three days, the Emperor had her tied to a column and scourged in his court. She was then thrown into a dungeon and left to die. However, two angels came to her and covered her with a balm and she was healed. When the Emperor learnt of her healing he attributed it to his pagan Gods and again tried to persuade her to marry him. When she refused, he ordered the guards to tie an anchor around her neck and throw her into the Tiber river. Again, angels came to her rescue. They placed her back on the riverbank before all the multitudes of people who had gathered at the riverbank. When people witnessed the miracle, many converted to Christianity. She was then dragged through the streets and shot with arrows but was miraculously protected by God. Emperor Diocletian again ordered her to be shot in her heart with arrows but this time also the arrows changed direction and struck the archers and killed them. Hearing of all the miracles, people began to renounce their pagan ways and convert to Christianity. This infuriated the Emperor all the more and he finally ordered her to be beheaded. Her martyrdom occurred on August 10.

The private revelations to Mother Maria received approval by the Holy Office, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on December 21, 1833. .

Miracles and devotion:

Miraculous healings and deliverances have been reported from the time her relics were discovered. As testified by Canon Francesco De Lucia, even before the relics arrived in his town, miracles began to occur through her intercession. The day before her relics arrived, it rained after a long season of drought. After the sacred relics were enshrined in the village, several miraculous healings occurred. The most famous miracle was the cure of Pauline Jaricot which was later recognised by Pope Gregory XVI as a first class miracle. Pope Pius IX was devoted to Saint Philomena from the time he was cured of epilepsy in his childhood through her intercession. When he was the Archbishop of Imola, he became seriously ill and was close to death. He placed the statue of Saint Philomena near his bed and prayed fervently for a miracle. He was granted a speedy recovery from there on and went on to become Pope Pius IX. Her intercession is recognized in curing Pope Gregory XVI, who authorized her public veneration, naming her Patroness of the Living Rosary. According to Pope Gregory XVI “Whatever you ask from her, she will obtain for you.” The Cure’ could often be heard saying, “My children, St. Philomena has great power with God, and she has, moreover, a kind heart; let us pray to her with confidence. Her virginity and generosity in embracing her heroic martyrdom have rendered her so agreeable to God that He will never refuse her anything that she asks for us.” Pope Leo XIII, St. John Vianney, St. Anthony Mary Claret, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini and many other saints had a great devotion to her. She is the patron saint of infants, babies and youth.