St. Philomena

St. Philomena is an amazing saint who stood up for her faith even when she was going to be persecuted for her beliefs and deep devotion to God. St. Philomena was a virgin martyr, who martyred at the young age of 13.

St. Philomena was a very beautiful Greek Princess and many men had fallen in love with her but her devotion to God helped her maintain her purity.

St. Philomena’s life was remembered from many people’s testimony who witnessed her martyrdom. However, one person in particular had a huge impact to what is known about St. Philomena due to a vision they had. A Neapolitan nun named Sister Maria Luisa di Gesu had a vision of St. Philomena. During this vision St. Philomena visited the nun and told her about her life.

St. Philomena was the daughter of a Greek king and she had converted to Christianity at a very young age and chose to live a life of deep devotion to God. Due to her love for God, St. Philomena decided at the age of 13 to take a vow of consecrated virginity.

However, during her lifetime women were treated very poorly, and St. Philomena’s Father decided to take her family to make peace in Rome, Italy. The Emperor named Diocletian fell in love with St. Philomena who was extremely young during that time.

Due to the love that the Emperor had for St. Philomena, he decided to ask her to marry him. However, St. Philomena rejected him which made the Emperor very upset. Due to St. Philomena’s rejection, the Emperor sentenced St. Philomena to be tortured.

The torture that St. Philomena endured was very intense and painful. The Emperor made St. Philomena get scourged, drowned by an anchor that was attached to her, and St. Philomena was shot by many arrows. However, each time that St. Philomena was attacked and tortured angels helped her and healed her from the pain due to their prayers.

After all the failed attempts the Emperor had done, he began to grow in frustration and anger. Due to his frustration he decided to have her be decapitated. St. Philomena’s death occurred on a Friday afternoon at 3:00. The time St. Philomena died is the same time Jesus died.

St. Philomena’s remains were found during the month of May of 1802 at the Catacombs of Priscilla on the Via Salaria Nova. 3 tiles were present near her remains, the tiles had written on them, “Peace be with you, Philomena.”

In the tiles of St. Philomena’s tomb two anchors, three arrows, a palm which is a symbol of martyrdom, and a flower were found. The things that were found are images of St. Philomena’s martyrdom.

St. Philomena due to what the nun had seen in her vision was born on January 10, 291 and she died on August 10, 304.

A lot of devotion to St. Philomena started to begin after her bones had been found and many miracles through her intercession began to occur. Canon Francesco De Lucia of Mugnano del Cardinale had received St. Philomena’s relics and decided to place them in a safe place in Our Lady of Grace in Mugano del Cardinale, Italy.

The beautiful thing is that instantly after her relics were placed in a safe place, many miracles occurred for example; many cancers were cured, many wounds were healed and the Miracle of Mugnano, when Venerable Pauline Jaricot was cured from a very severe heart issue overnight. All these miracles occurred through St. Philomena’s intercession.

Many saints have lived a life devoted to God and they prayed a lot to St. Philomena, and many miracles that had occurred in their lives occurred through St. Philomena’s intercession. Some of these saints include St. John Marie Vianney and St. Peter Louis Marie Chanel.

Many believers around the world, love St. Philomena and St. Philomena has done many miracles for those who pray for her intercession. During the year 1837 St. Philomena was canonized.

St. Philomena is the patron saint of many different things. St. Philomena is the patron saint of the youth, babies and infants. St. Philomena died at a young age therefore she is usually shown as a young girl with a flower crown, a palm of martyrdom, arrows, or an anchor. St. Philomena’s feast day is celebrated on August 11.

Prayer to St. Philomena

St. Philomena we pray that you may place your mantle of protection over all the babies and infants help them to be able to be close to Christ so that they may be guided by him as they grow up. We also pray that you may protect the youth help them to be healthy of mind, body and spirit, so that they may live a life of close devotion and dedication to Christ. We pray that you may help the youth to thirst for Christ’s love and mercy just like you did so that they may fulfill his will through all of the trials and temptations they may encounter. St. Philomena we pray that you may protect every child who may be going through any uncertainty during this time and help them to find the comfort and love they are searching for through Christ’s love.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother in Heaven

Amen

St. Philomena pray for us

St. Joseph pray for us

St. Philomena is a beautiful saint who can help any child deepen their relationship with Christ. St. Philomena stood strong in her beliefs in moments of uncertainty. It is important that during this time each one of us try to strengthen our devotion and love for Christ because he can truly help us get through all the uncertainty we are facing. Let's pray that St. Philomena can continue to guide the youth to Christ and help the youth follow his will.

May we continue to strengthen our journey to sainthood and keep others in our prayers.

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Works cited: Information (read from, not taken): Catholic Online. “St. Philomena.” St. Philomena - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. Accessed 12 April 2021. Images: St. Philomena. April 12, 2021. st. philomena - Google Search