The Life of Saint Philomena

Here is her story as it has been handed down in popular devotion since the nineteenth century.

Saint Philomena was born in 291 to pagan parents.
Her father was the prince of a city in Greece, and her mother was of princely descent. They had no children, and they offered sacrifices and prayers to their false gods to be granted offspring.
There was a Christian man in the palace named Publius who was moved by their situation. Led by the Holy Spirit, he spoke to them about the living God who could give them children. God’s grace touched their hearts and enlightened their minds; they believed in Christ, and God gave them a daughter whom they named Lumina, meaning “light of faith”; at her baptism she was named Philomena, “daughter of light”. Her parents loved her, and she never left their side. When they went to Rome, they took Philomena with them. There the Emperor Diocletian saw her and wanted to marry her, but she refused, declaring her love for Christ and her consecrated virginity. The emperor was furious and had her arrested and thrown into prison for thirty-seven days. On the thirty-seventh day, as she was praying, the Virgin Mary appeared to her and said: “You have only three days left; then you will come out and endure many torments.” After forty days Philomena came out and suffered many tortures, until she received the crown of martyrdom and virginity.
Her feast is August 11.

Prayer

O Saint Philomena, virgin and glorious martyr, worker of wonders in our time, obtain for me purity of body and soul, purity of heart and desire, purity of thought and affection.
Obtain for me, through your patience in manifold torments, the grace to accept with submission all the trials God wishes to place in my path.
And as you were miraculously saved, unharmed, from the waters of the Tiber into which your persecutors threw you, may I too pass through the waters of trial without harm to my soul.
I also ask you, faithful bride of Jesus, in addition to this favour, to obtain for me the special intention for which I am praying at this moment.
Most pure virgin and holy martyr, look down from heaven with compassion on your faithful servant: comfort me in my suffering, help me in danger and come to my aid at the hour of my death.
Watch over the interests of God’s Church and pray for her exaltation and endurance, for the spread of the faith, for the Supreme Pontiff and the clergy, for the perseverance of the just, the conversion of sinners and the repose of the souls in purgatory, especially those dear to my heart.
Great saint, whose triumph we celebrate on earth, intercede for me so that I may in turn receive the crown of glory you have won in heaven, and bless for ever the One who rewards with an eternal reward the sufferings endured for his love during our short life.

Amen.