Philomena

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Saint Philomena
Image:Philomena.jpg
Youth, martyr, legend
Born	??
Died	??
Venerated by	Roman Catholics
Feast	August 11 (not celebrated liturgically)
Attributes	Youth, martyrdom
Patron saint of	Children, youth, lost causes, sterility

Saint Philomena is an alleged 4th century saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. Her veneration, however, began in the early 19th century as a result of an archaeological find; after news of the find spread, several miracles were credited to her intercession. Devotion to her was especially publicised by Saint Jean Vianney, who attributed some of his works of faith healing to her aid.

In 1961, however, she was dropped from the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar of saints, on the grounds that the archaeological finds were considered inadequate demonstration that such a martyr existed. Her dramatic biography is an example of how legendary saints such as Catherine of Alexandria arose in Christian mythology; her story is exceptional largely because her legend arose during a period of widespread literacy, so the spread of her fame can be documented.

1 Discovery of a tomb
2 Philomena venerated as a saint
3 Story of her martyrdom
4 Philomena's feast day removed
5 Popes with devotion to Saint Philomena
6 References
7 External links

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Discovery of a tomb

Human remains were discovered on May 24, 1802 in the Catacombs of Saint Priscilla at the Via Salaria in Rome. Accompanying these remains was a set of tiles bearing a fragmentary inscription containing the words LUMENA PAXTE CUMFI, words of no known meaning in any language. The letters were rearranged to read PAX TECUM FILUMENA, Latin for "Peace with you, Filumena." Various vessels, including one allegedly containing blood, were also found in the tomb.

From these discoveries, it was concluded that a Christian named Filumena — i.e. Philomena — was buried there; the vessel containing blood was thought to be her relic, evidence of a martyr's death. On June 8, 1805, her remains and relics were translated to the church of Mugnano, a diocese of Nola, outside of Naples. The terra cotta slabs from her tomb were given to the Mugnano church in 1827 by Pope Leo X.

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Philomena venerated as a saint

The discovery of these relics or alleged relics resulted in a wave of devotion to Philomena. In 1835, Pauline Jaricot, a French girl and foundress of the Association of the Living Rosary, gave credit to Philomena for her recovery from heart disease. Jean Vianney, who was well known as a faith healer, also frequently credited Philomena's intervention in working his cures. Other noteworthy devotees include Father Damien, who named a chapel in the leprosarium at Molokai, Hawaii after Philomena.

It was largely on account of these reports of miracles that Pope Gregory XVI authorized the public veneration of Philomena as a saint, and instituted a feast day that was formerly observed on September 9. This papal approval of public liturgical devotion was first granted to the clergy of the diocese of Nola, and later extended to a number other dioceses, including Rome itself.

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Story of her martyrdom

A nun in Naples, by private revelation, produced a life of Philomena. She was allegedly a young girl, 12 or 13, at the time of her death. The inscriptions found on terra cotta slabs which formed the sides of her vault (an anchor, two arrows, a lance, a palm and a lily) were considered by the discoverers to indicate that she suffered a Christian martyr's death, that she overcame, and that she was a virgin.

According to the nun's account, Philomena's father was a Greek king beheaded in Rome by Diocletian, she was in turn ordered executed when she refused the marital advances of the Emperor. She was first meant to be killed by archers, but the arrows returned upon the bowmen. She was then ordered drowned with an anchor tied about her neck, but the rope was rent by angels and Philomena was returned to dry land unharmed. She was finally decapitated when a mob ran amuck after seeing the miracles performed on her behalf.

The incidents of this biography go far beyond the evidence found in the tomb. They strongly resemble the accounts of other Christian martyrs told in medieval hagiographies such as the Golden Legend. The anchor symbol found in the tomb was used to link her with traditional accounts of the martyrdom of Saint Clement; a ninth century narrative has him being drowned tied to an anchor; earlier accounts say he died a natural death. The arrows linked her with the story of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian; traditional accounts of his martyrdom have him being shot with arrows.

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Philomena's feast day removed

On February 14, 1961, prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Sacred Congregation of Rites in Rome issued an instruction that St. Philomena's feast day was to be removed from the liturgical calendars. This occurred well before the well known purging of non-historical saints like Saint George and Saint Christopher from the Roman Catholic church calendar in 1969. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the plates found on the actual grave, which had apparently been arranged in an incorrect order, were in fact from an older grave, and were reused on the grave where they were found. Neither these signs nor the glass vessel discovered in the grave can be regarded as a proof of martyrdom. The removal of the name from the calendar was a directive stating that Philomena is no longer publicly commemmorated in the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church; it was not, however, an ecclesial declaration of decanonization, nor did it prohibit popular devotion to St. Philomena, which has received repeated approbation by the papal Magisterium. There are ongoing attempts to rehabilitate St. Philomena's position within the Catholic Church [1].

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Popes with devotion to Saint Philomena

Pope Pio XII was in the second year of his Pontificate at at the time the remains were discovered in the Catacombs. It was he who donated the relics of St. Philomena to Don Francesco de Lucia, the priest at Mugnano.
Pope Leo XII Declared St. Philomena “The Great Wonder Worker”. The vice secretary to the Custodian of the St. Priscilla Catacombs presented him with the second edition, dated December 7, 1827, of Don Francesco’s accounts of the miracles happening at the Sanctuary.
Pope Gregory XVI was a supporter of St. Philomena's cult. He named her patroness of the Living Rosary and conceded to her the Universal Cult; he also donated several items to the treasury at the sanctuary.
Pope Pius IX claimed to have been miraculously cured by St. Philomena, as did his secretary Bishop Imola. As Pope, Pius made a pilgrimage to her Sanctuary on November 7, 1849, accompanied by King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. He also aided a young man who claimed his sight had been restored through Philomena in becoming a priest. Just before his death, Pope Pius donated a chalice to the saint's sanctuary.
Pope Leo XIII made two pilgrimages to the sanctuary and approved the use of the cord on December 15, 1883, while he was the Archbishop of Benevento; while pope, sent a cross to the rector of the sanctuary.
Pope Saint Pius X elevated the Pious Archconfraternity of St. Philomena into a Universal Pious Archconfraternity in May 1912. For Philomena's feast in 1905, he sent a gold ring to the sanctuary which has been placed on her statue.
Pope Benedict VX had a devotion to St Philomena and sent a gift of a silver lamb for peace to the santuary during World War I.