St. Philomena
"The Discovery of Her Relics"
St. Philomena's relics were unearthed at the beginning of the 19th century.
On May 24, 1802, during the excavations which are continually being made
in the Roman Catacombs, an earthen tomb was brought to light. Three tiles,
set together, closed the entrance, and on them was an inscription which
seemed to be:
LUMENA PAXTE CUM FI
The letters were in red paint and surrounded with Christian
symbols. After a little study it was evident that these tiles had been
disarranged, either because they were put in place in too great haste,
or because someone not familiar with Latin had laid them in the wrong order.
For, properly arranged, they read:
PAXTE CUM FI LUMENA
(Pax tecum Filumena!)
PEACE BE TO YOU PHILOMENA!
When, on the following day, the stone slabs were removed,
there was found within the burial place a thin, half-broken vase, whose
inner wall was covered with congealed blood. It was blood which had been
collected at the death of the martyr, according to the custom of the Christians
during the persecutions, and placed with the remains as a testimonial to
her death by martyrdom. This blood was loosened from the broken pieces
of the vase to which it adhered, and was carefully placed in a crystal
urn. Those present, among whom were men of great learning, were amazed
to see that these little particles of blood, as soon as they fell into
the urn, glittered like burnished gold or silver, or shone like diamonds
and precious jewels, or, again, were resplendent in all colors of the rainbow.
This extraordinary phenomenon continues to the present day.
Cut on the tomb of the saint were the emblems of a lily
and a palm, to indicate her virginity and her martyrdom. There were also
an anchor, a scourge, and three arrows, two pointing in opposite directions,
and one with a curved line upon it, signifying fire, and intended to symbolize
the different torments which the martyr endured in testimony of her faith
in and love of Jesus Christ.
TRANSLATION OF HER HOLY REMAINS
After the relics of the saint had been exhumed, they were left at Rome
until 1805. At that time Canon Francis de Lucia of Mugnano, a small town
near Naples, visited the Eternal City. He was filled with the ardent desire
of procuring the relics of some martyred saint for his private chapel.
Since the Bishop of Potenza, whom he had accompanied to Rome, supported
his petition, Canon Francis de Lucia was allowed to visit the Treasury
of Relics, a large hall where the exhumed remains of several saints were
preserved. On pausing before the relics of Saint Philomena, he was suddenly
filled with an unaccountable spiritual joy, and at once begged for them.
It was with some difficulty that the relics were finally consigned to him,
since it was contrary to custom to bestow such treasures on a simple priest.
Through the negotiations of a friend, the body of another saint was at
first given to him, which he accepted with reluctance.
In the meantime, Canon de Lucia became very ill. He prayed
to Saint Philomena and was instantly cured. This renewed his attempts to
procure her relics, and shortly after, the insurmountable difficulties
to his possessing them were overcome, whereupon he had them taken to Naples.
The travelers lodged in the house of a good friend in that city. There
the relics were encased in a statue of the saint, especially made for the
purpose, and this in turn was placed in a wooden casket. Soon many miracles
took place. Lady Angela Rose, the mistress of the house, had suffered twelve
years from an incurable disease; she begged the saint's intercession and
was instantly healed. Others, too, obtained wonderful cures.
TRANSFER OF HER RELICS TO MUGNANO
On the 10th of August, 1805, the relics of the saint were transferred
to Mugnano, a hill town near Naples and the home of Canon de Lucia. Continuous
miracles of every kind accompanied this transfer. The day before their
arrival, at the prayers of the inhabitants, a plentiful rain refreshed
the fields and meadows of Mugnano after a long season of drought. Lord
Michael Ulpicella, a lawyer, who had not been able to leave his room for
six weeks, had himself carried to the relics and returned home completely
cured. A lady of rank had a cancerous ulcer on her hand which required
an operation. A relic of the saint was brought to her. In the evening she
placed it on the wound. The following morning, when the surgeon arrived
to operate, he found to his surprise that the wound had disappeared.
Saint Philomena's shrine at Mugnano became the scene of
the most marvelous prodigies. Among these was the cure of Pauline Jaricot,
which is known as the "Great Miracle of Mugnano." It was
this cure which, after a long and mature deliberation, led to the formal
approval of the cult of Saint Philomena by Pope Gregory XVI, who declared
it a first class miracle. The Pope, in his decree, called the saint "The
Thaumaturga (Wonder Worker) of the Nineteenth Century".
This title, as thousands attest, she deserves no less in our day, for her
miracles are as numerous and as brilliant as ever.
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