Saint Philomena. A Saint For Our Age.

Text and Illustrations from Reverend Father Timothy Finigan, who originally published this Article on 11 August 2019.
It is now reproduced with permission.

11 August is the Feast Day of Saint Philomena, Virgin, Martyr, and worker of countless Miracles, notably through the intercession of Saint John Vianney, whom Pope Benedict XVI, during the “Year Of The Priesthood” (June 2009 - June 2010), proclaimed as the “Patron of all the Priests of the World.”

As ever, we need to get out a metaphorical Yard Broom to clear the deck from a common reaction to Saint Philomena.

For many people, the only fact they know about Saint Philomena is that “she didn’t exist.” When I first wrote about Saint Alphonsus, one commentator said that recommending him was “as loopy as promoting devotion to Saint Philomena”, which I think tells you all you need to know.

Therefore, my Post “Saint Philomena - Pray For Us !” was not simply a recommendation to Prayer, but a response to this received (and outdated) opinion that Saint Philomena did not exist.

If you have recently read Taylor Marshall’s book “Infiltration”, you will not be surprised to see that I wrote:

“It is instructive to see the appalling Article in the old Catholic Encyclopedia which illustrates the influence of rationalistic prejudice at the beginning of the 20th-Century which infected even Catholic circles.”

The best Article defending the cultus of Saint Philomena is by Mark Miravalle: “Present Ecclesial Status Of Devotion To Saint Philomena”. It is well worth reading if you want to be properly informed when confronted with the customary scepticism which dates back to the early days of Crypto-Modernism.

Devotion to Saint Philomena ties in well with the initiative I wrote about the other day called “Break the Chains”. The breakdown of Chastity which gained momentum during the Post-War years and then grew much more devastating in the last twenty years through the use of the Internet for the promotion of pornography, had its roots in the atheistic philosophy of the French Revolution.

At the time, Saint John Vianney saw the danger of un-chastity clearly and opposed it strenuously. It does seem on the one hand providential that he was able to rely on the help of Saint Philomena, and on the other hand highly suspicious that she should have been a target of intense opposition in the first half of the 20th-Century.

That period also saw particular repugnance among some Ecclesiastical circles, for the cultus of the other Virgin Martyrs, and especially those who were young.

Saint Philomena is a magnificent counter-cultural Patroness for the Spiritual battle against the impurity of our times, and a heroine that young people might warm to.

If you are looking for an additional devotion for the “Break The Chains” Spiritual battle, I would consider it a privilege to be the one through whom you were to discover Saint Philomena.

A good place to start would be the Article about her at the Web-Site of the “Living Rosary Association”. At the EWTN Web-Site, there is a “Litany And Novena To Saint Philomena”. The Litany was composed by Saint John Vianney.

On Saint Philomena’s Feast Day (11 August), please do also remember in your Prayers the “Institute Of Christ The King, Sovereign Priest” who care for the Shrine Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and Saint Philomena, at New Brighton, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury, and their their devout and pastoral Bishop, Mark Davies.