Philomena. Well not really, but you know how we roll here at All These Things. Today I thought I’d tell you a little about the lady I’ve chosen to hide behind, in case, like me, you had not made her acquaintance until you found this blog.
It turns out that she is quite an unusual saint. She was martyred in her early teens and her remains buried in the catacomb of St Priscilla. Two hundred and 5 years ago yesterday(!) her remains were discovered, behind the inscription LUMENA/ PAXTE/CUMFI. When this was unscrambled, it read PAX TECUM FILUMENA “Peace be with you, Philomena”. The remains were officially donated to a priest, Francis de Lucia, who enshrined them in his village church near Naples. After Philomena’s remains made this trip, so the story goes, many miraculous healings began to occur. She attracted an increasing number of devotees and earned such titles as “Philomena, Powerful with God”, “Wonder-worker of the Nineteenth Century” and “New Light of the Church Militant”(!!). Philomena was finally venerated in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI.
So, next to nothing is known about Philomena’s short life, including why she was martyred. But, the miraculous powers surrounding her shrine lead her to a posthumous sainthood. What led me to her were her spheres of influence, which include poor people, sick people, babies and my particular favorites “desperate causes”, “forgotten causes” and “impossible causes”. Now if THOSE aren’t starting points for a blog, then…….?!!
I invite my fellow bloggers to tell us a little about their chosen saints……
Philomena
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