SAINT PHILOMENA
Also Known as:
Filumenae virgin and martyr
Feast:
August 11th
Born:
c. January 10, 291
Died:
c. August 10, 304
Canonized:
January 13, 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI (Pope Gregory XVI gave permission for public veneration in some limited places but not throughout the Church, The name of Philomena was never included in the Roman Martyrology, the official list of saints recognized by the Catholic Church)
Patronage:
Children, youth, babies, infants, priests, lost causes, sterility, virgins, Children of Mary
About Saint Philomena
After 1500 years of obscurity in the catacombs, the precious relics of St. Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, were discovered on May 24th and revealed on May 25th 1802. Little is known of the life of Saint Philomena before the discovery of her celebrated tomb in the Catacombs of Pricilla at Rome. The only information we have about the life of the Saint is derived from the revelation that she herself made to the Servant of God, Sister Maria Luisa of Jesus, her fervent devotee, on August 3, 1833. Speaking to the holy sister while she was in prayer before a statue of her, the Saint recounted in detail all her life.
Prayer
O, most pure Virgin, glorious Martyr, Saint Philomena whom God in His eternal power has revealed to the world in these unhappy days, in order to revive the faith, sustain the hope, and enkindle the charity of Christian souls, behold me prostrate at the feet. Deign, O Virgin, full of goodness and kindness, to receive my humble prayers and to obtain for me that purity for which thou didst sacrifice the most alluring pleasures of the world; that strength of soul which made thee resist the most terrible attacks; and that ardent love for Our Lord Jesus Christ which the most frightful torments could not extinguish in thee, so that, wearing thy holy cord and imitating thee in this life, I may one day be crowned with thee in Heaven. Amen
