Saint Philomena, Powerful with God is a book that highlights the story of St. Philomena’s presence in the Church. It explains how she first began to present herself to believers, how her miracles continued to develop, and records revelations of details from her earthly life. This account of St. Philomena’s story and tradition surpasses others by providing great detail and revelations from the saint herself.
The story of St. Philomena’s devotion in the Church begins not with her life, but rather with the discovery of her remains in 1802. Her tomb was found in the catacombs of St. Priscilla with an inscription on the outside that read, “Pax tecum Filumena,” Peace be with you, Philomena. A small vile of her blood was also discovered near her head, which was an early Christian tradition for martyrs. Upon examination, this dried blood turned into precious stones.[1]
Jennifer Popiel, Ph.D. notes that devotion to St. Philomena spread unexpectedly, as many similar virgin martyrs were already well-known.[2] St. Philomena could be compared to St. Agnes or St. Agatha. Even more recently devotion to St. Maria Goretti has surged, but St. Philomena has remained ever-present. Mathew Kuefler writes, “over time some saints have been elevated in status and others discredited, some renamed and others given new biographies invented for them, some twinned and others lost in obscurity.”[3] St. Philomena has undergone revisions in her biography and liturgical celebrations, her story has also been reproduced in the lives of more recent saints. Still, the Church remains devoted to her and she continues to produce numerous miracles for the faithful.
St. Philomena’s story continues to describe how her recognition grew and the various occasions on which her remains were relocated to facilitate proper veneration of her remains. In each of these locations, St. Philomena continued to work miracles of healing, conversion, and movements of her statue.
One could consider the most revealing portion of the book, Saint Philomena: Powerful with God to be what the saint herself speaks in apparitions regarding the story of her life and death. St. Philomena explains that she was born to a royal family and vowed her virginity to God as an adolescent. When her father promised her to an emperor in marriage, she refused to assent. The emperor attempted to force her into marriage through a variety of harsh means which Philomena bravely resisted. During her time of imprisonment, Our Lady visited her to grant her encouragement. Eventually, she was martyred for this decision. Even then, the Lord protected her as they tried to kill her with arrows, drowning, and fire. All of these did not kill her, only did her soul reach her heavenly home when her neck was pierced with a lance.[4]
The book concludes with various revelations such as this. The final remarks were recorded in 1950 saying that her remains continue to be venerated with great devotion. The statue of the saint still makes slight modifications in the positioning which are recorded in every occurrence. She has worked many miracles for those who visit her and pray through her intercession. St. Philomena is especially distinguished among the virgin martyrs.
[1] Marie Helene Mohr, Saint Philomena: Powerful with God, (Rockford, IL: TAN, 1988), 8.
[2] Jennifer Popiel,“St. Philomena(’s) Remains: Religion, Sentiment, and Patriarchy Undermined in Post-Revolutionary France,” Age of Revolutions Series, (2020): at Age of Revolutions, ageofrevolutions.com.
[3] Mathew Kuefler, “The Convertible Saint: Expeditus through Time and Space,” Journal of Religious History 42, no.1 (2018): 25, at EBSCO, web.s.ebscohost.com.
[4] Mohr, Philomena, 126.
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