Saint Philomena – Spirit Enterprises

Saint Philomena – Powerful with God – Pray for us!

* A Brief History * For her own words of her life and martyrdom, refer to Audio source below.
In May 1802, excavators in the ancient Catacomb of St. Priscilla in Rome came upon a well-intact 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 the words properly, the very intelligible sentence emerges: Pax tecum, Filumena, which is, “Peace be with you, Philomena.” Also inscribed on the tiles were several 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 general 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 their 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 some 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 the Catholic Church, she became the only person recognized by the Church as a saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing 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, expectant mothers, destitute mothers, marriage problems, sterility, priests and their work, real estate, money problems and mental illness. But truly, as her devotees have discovered, no request, of whatever nature, is too trivial or too important to concern her. Indeed, 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 abound. St. Philomena, powerful with God, pray for us! (As taken in part from back cover of: Saint Philomena – Powerful With God by Sister Marie Helen Mohr, S.C., published by Tan Books, 1988.) * Please see below for other resources. *

*** A Brief History ***
For her own words of her life and martyrdom, refer to Audio source below.

In May 1802, excavators in the ancient Catacomb of St. Priscilla in Rome came upon a well-intact 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 the words properly, the very intelligible sentence emerges: Pax tecum, Filumena, which is, “Peace be with you, Philomena.” Also inscribed on the tiles were several 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 general 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 their 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 some 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 the Catholic Church, she became the only person recognized by the Church as a saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing 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, expectant mothers, destitute mothers, marriage problems, sterility, priests and their work, real estate, money problems and mental illness. But truly, as her devotees have discovered, no request, of whatever nature, is too trivial or too important to concern her.

Indeed, 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 abound. St. Philomena, powerful with God, pray for us! (As taken in part from back cover of: Saint Philomena – Powerful With God by Sister Marie Helen Mohr, S.C., published by Tan Books, 1988.)
*** Please see below for other resources. ***

WHY DEDICATE A WEB PAGE TO A SAINT ON A SITE DEVOTED TO BIBLE STUDY?
We dedicate our site to this little Saint in acknowledgement and appreciation for favors received with respect to our son, David, who was rescued through her intercession from a life on the streets while suffering a mental disease – schizophrenia. We wish to thank, Richard Fox, who introduced us to St. Philomena; and who not only initiated a novena on David’s behalf but took our petitions directly before St. Philomena at her shrine in Mugnano, Italy. It was Richard Fox’s own story, quite remarkable in itself regarding the intervention of this little Saint, that help jump start our initial trust in her ability to intercede for our son’s desperate situation. Needless to say, the events that led to our son’s recovery were miraculous in their timing and circumstance to make us believers. We invite you to explore the following resources to better know and understand St. Philomena’s concern and remarkable intercession for all needs presented to her.

WHY DEDICATE A WEB PAGE TO A SAINT ON A SITE DEVOTED TO BIBLE STUDY?

We dedicate our site to this little Saint in acknowledgement and appreciation for favors received with respect to our son, David, who was rescued through her intercession from a life on the streets while suffering a mental disease – schizophrenia. We wish to thank, Richard Fox, who introduced us to St. Philomena; and who not only initiated a novena on David’s behalf but took our petitions directly before St. Philomena at her shrine in Mugnano, Italy. It was Richard Fox’s own story, quite remarkable in itself regarding the intervention of this little Saint, that help jump start our initial trust in her ability to intercede for our son’s desperate situation. Needless to say, the events that led to our son’s recovery were miraculous in their timing and circumstance to make us believers. We invite you to explore the following resources to better know and understand St. Philomena’s concern and remarkable intercession for all needs presented to her.

Resources (Audio, Books, WebSites) for St. Philomena
AUDIO – It is Time to Meet St. Philomena by Dr. Mark Miravalle is available through our Net-Casting Service. To access same, please visit the top of our Home page or click on Yellow Submarine here. Our thanks to Richard Fox and Family of Saint Philomena Organization for permission to provide this audio presentation.
BOOKS — See Book Cover below and download link provided for: Saint Philomena – The Wonder-Worker by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan. This is the Original Timeless Classic that truly needs to be read from cover-to-cover. Additional books (in no particular order) worthy of reading: — It Is Time To Meet St. Philomena by Dr. Mark Miravalle, Queenship Publishing Company — Wonder Worker by Cecily Hallack, Universal Living Rosary Asscociation — Saint Philomena Powerful With God by Sister Marie Helene Mohr, S.C., Tan Books, 1988 — Ask St. Philomena by Rick Medina, Sunday Visitor, 2003.
WEBSITES — for unlimited information and devotional items related to Saint Philomena: Click here=> www.Philomena.us — Official Site – Sanctuary of St. Philomena Click here=> www.ShopPhilomena.com — Official Site – Family of Saint Philomena Click here=> www.TheLivingRosary.org — Official Site – Universal Living Rosary Association