SAINT PHILOMENA VIRGIN AND MARTYR FEAST DAY AUGUST 11TH   SAINT PHILOMENA, POWERFUL WITH GOD, PRAY FOR US!   NOVENA AND DISCOVERY OF HER RELICS

Larger Image  http://www.philomena.org/phlg.html

Novena Prayer To  St. Philomena

O FAITHFUL VIRGIN and glorious martyr, St. Philomena, who works so many miracles on behalf of the poor
and sorrowing, have pity on me.  Thou knowest the multitude and diversity of my needs. Behold me at thy
feet, full of misery, but full of hope. I entreat thy charity, O great Saint!  Graciously hear me and obtain from
God a favorable answer to the request which I now humbly lay before thee... (Here specify your petition.)  I am
firmly convinced that through thy merits, through the scorn, the sufferings and the death thou didst endure,
united to the merits of the Passion and death of Jesus, thy Spouse, I shall obtain what I ask of thee, and in the
joy of my heart I will bless God, who is admirable in His Saints.  Amen.

Imprimatur:  + Carolus Hubertus Le Blond
Episcopus Sancti Josephi
January, 1952
 

The Story of St. Philomena

    On May 25, 1802, excavators in the ancient Catacomb of St. Priscilla in Rome came upon a well-preserved
shelf tomb sealed with terra-cotta slabs in the manner usually reserved for nobility or great martyrs.  The tomb
was marked with three tiles, inscribed with the following confusing words: LUMENA / PAXTE / CUMFI.
However, if one places the first tile last and separates tile words properly, the very intelligible sentence
emerges: Pax tecum, Filumena, which is "Peace be with you, Philomena."  Also inscribed on the tiles were
symbols: a lily, arrows, an anchor and a lance, which would appear to indicate virginity and martyrdom.  Inside
the coffin there were discovered the remains of a girl of about twelve or thirteen years of age, along with a vial
or ampulla of her dried blood.

    Transferred to the Treasury of the Rare Collection of Christian Antiquity in the Vatican, the remains were
soon forgotten by the public, especially since no record existed of a virgin martyr named Philomena.  But in
1805, a Neapolitan priest, Don Francesco di Lucia, traveling to Rome with his newly appointed bishop,
requested and, after a brief delay, received the relics of this martyr, "Philomena", to enshrine in his village
church at Mugnano, near Naples.

    Immediately upon the official donation of St. Philomena's sacred remains, signal favors began to be granted
through her intercession and unusual events to occur.  The favors, graces and even miracles started to
increase, even before her enshrinement at Mugnano, and they steadily grew in number thereafter -- such that
this virgin martyr soon earned the title, "Philomena, Powerful with God."  In 1837, only 35 years after her
exhumation, Pope Gregory XVI elevated this "Wonder-Worker of the Nineteenth Century" to sainthood.  In
an act unprecedented in the history of Catholicism, she became the only person recognized by the Church as
a Saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing historical was known of her except her
name and the evidence of her martyrdom.

    St. Philomena has been successfully invoked by her supplicants in every sort of need, such that she has
become another patron of "hopeless" and "impossible" cases, like St. Jude or St. Rita, but she is known to be
especially powerful in cases involving conversion of sinners, return to the Sacraments, expectant mothers,
destitute mothers, problems with children, unhappiness in the home, sterility, priests and their work, help for
the sick, the missions, real estate, money problems, food for the poor and mental illness.  But truly, as her
devotees have discovered, no case, of whatever matter,  is too trivial or too unimportant  to concern her.

    Among her most devoted clients was St. John Vianney, (the Cure' of Ars), whose childlike devotion to this
virgin saint played an  intimate part in his daily life.  Other Saints who were always devoted to her, prayed to
her and sang her praises were  St. Peter Julian Eymard, St. Peter Chanel, St. Anthony Mary Claret, St.
Madeleine Sophie Barat, St. Euphrasia Pelletier, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, St. John Nepomucene Neumann,
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi and Ven. Pauline Jaricot.

    A number of Popes have also shown remarkable devotion to St. Philomena as well:  Pope Leo XII
(1823-1829) expressed the greatest admiration for this unknown child-saint and gladly gave his permission for
the erection of altars and churches in her honor.  Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846), who authorized her public
veneration, showed his esteem and devotion to the Saint by giving her the title of "Patroness of the Living
Rosary."  A  Mass and proper Office in her honor were approved by him in 1834 or 1835.  This is an
extraordinary privilege granted to comparatively few Saints.  Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) proclaimed her
"Patroness of the (Children of Mary."  Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) made two pilgrimages to her shrine before
his election to the papacy.  After he had become the Vicar of Christ,  he gave a valuable cross to the
sanctuary.  He approved the Confraternity of St. Philomena and later raised it to an Archconfraternity (which
is still headquartered at her shrine at Mugnano, Italy).  Pope St. Pius X (1903-1914) spoke warmly of her and
manifested his devotion to her in many ways.  Costly gifts were given by him to her shrine.

   Truly, St. Philomena is a powerful intercessor -- seemingly held quietly in reserve by Our Divine Lord during
these many centuries -- for especially strong help in our times, when so much confusion and absence of faith
are manifest.  Her principal feast day is August 11th.
 

Additional information about Saint Philomena may be found at:

http://www.philomena.org/index1.html

http://traditio.com/tradlib/philomen.txt
 

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