Life, Devotion and Novena to St. Philomena
Life of St. Philomena
St. Philomena (c. 291–304) was a young Greek princess who pledged a vow of virginity to Christ at age 13. After refusing to marry Emperor Diocletian, she endured imprisonment, scourging, drowning, and arrow shots, with angels protecting her until her final execution by decapitation. Known as a "Wonder-Worker" because of numerous miracles that resulted from invoking her help in prayers, she is the only saint canonized solely for miracles.
Her remains were discovered in 1802 in the Catacombs of Priscilla with tiles reading "Pax Tecum Filimina" (Peace be with you, Philomena). Her life story was later revealed through private revelations to a Neapolitan nun, Sister Maria Luisa di Gesù, in 1833.
As a teenager, she refused to marry Diocletian to maintain her vow of virginity to Christ. The emperor subjected her to multiple tortures, including being chained to an anchor and thrown into River Tiber, from which angels reportedly saved her, freeing her by untying the ropes used to tie her to the heavy anchor. It was also recorded that when arrows were shot at her to kill her, as the arrows travelled midway, they miraculously turned around and pierced and killed the men who shot them. She was finally martyred by decapitation.
Following her exhumation, numerous miracles, including healings, were attributed to her intercession. Pope Gregory XVI approved her veneration in 1837 after she was deemed a saint based on the miracles reported.
St. John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, was a major devotee, attributing many miracles to her. She is considered a patron saint of infants, babies, and youth.
She is often depicted with an anchor, arrows, and a lily, representing the torture attempts and her purity.
Due to lack of historical documentation regarding her life, she was removed from the official Roman Calendar in 1961, though devotion to her remains widespread.
Her feast day is celebrated on August 11.
St. Philomena Cord
The St. Philomena cord is a Catholic sacramental—a red and white woollen or cotton cord worn around the waist to signify devotion to St. Philomena, seeking her intercession for purity, faith, and protection against evil. It represents her martyrdom (red) and virginity (white), often featuring two knots at one end representing her dual victory.
Novena Prayer to St. Philomena
Prayer for Each Day during the Novena. O Glorious Virgin and Martyr, beloved of God, Saint Philomena! I rejoice with thee in the power which God gave thee for the glory of His Name, for the edification His Church, and to reward the merits of thy life and death. I rejoice to see thee so great, so pure, so generous, so faithful to Jesus Christ, and to His Gospel, and so splendidly rewarded in Heaven, and on earth. Attracted by thy example to the practice of solid virtue full of hope at the sight of thy recompense granted to thy merits. I resolve to follow thee in avoiding all evil and in fully obeying what God commands. Help me, O great Saint by thy powerful intercession. Obtain for me particularly, a purity inviolable forever, a strength of soul always invincible in every kind of assault, a generosity which denies no sacrifice to God, and a love as strong as death for the Faith of Jesus Christ, for the Holy Roman Church and for Our Holy Father, the Father of all the Faithful, the Shepherd of shepherds and of their flocks, the Vicar of Jesus Christ over all the world.
With all the fervour of my soul, I implore these graces from thee, and, in addition, I ask these other benefits from thee with equal confidence in obtaining them through thy powerful intercession.
(Here tell Saint Philomena what you need, with simplicity, confidence and humility).
Surely that God so good for Whom thou didst give thy blood and thy life that God so good Who is so generous to thee and through thy mediation, so generous with gifts and favours to us, that God so good Who has loved me even unto dying for me, even unto giving me Himself under the Eucharistic appearances, surely He will never be deaf to thy prayers, nor to my appeals, unless it be that He Himself is in some different way seeking to do me good. Full of confidence, I place all my trust in Him and in thee. Amen
Let us Pray
O God, who in Thy great might didst raise up martyrs even from among the weaker sex, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who celebrate the feast of Thy blessed Virgin and Martyr, Philomena, may be led by her example and brought by her to thee: Through Our Lord Jesus Christ Who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns one God, in perfect Trinity, for ever and ever. Amen.
St. Philomena Chaplet
St. Philomena is a most powerful helper of students at examinations
She cures the sick in the most desperate cases.
She obtains great help for mothers at childbirth.
The Chaplet of St. Philomena consists of a Medal of her likeness with 3 white beads in honour of the three Divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity in thanksgiving for all favours obtained through her intercession, and 13 red beads representing the thirteen years she spent on earth.
How to pray:
On the medal pray:
The Apostle's Creed - to ask for the grace of faith.
1st White Bead pray:
The Our Father - in honor of The Father
2nd White Bead pray:
The Our Father - in honor of The Son
3rd White Bead pray:
The Our Father - in honor of The Holy Spirit
On each Red Bead pray:
Hail, O holy St. Philomena, whom I acknowledge, after Mary, as my advocate with the Divine Spouse, intercede for me now and at the hour of my death.
St. Philomena, beloved daughter of Jesus and Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.
In conclusion say:
Hail, O illustrious St. Philomena, who shed so courageously your blood for Christ! I bless the Lord for all the graces He has bestowed upon thee during thy life, and especially at thy death. I praise and glorify Him for the honor and power with which He has crowned thee, and I beg thee to obtain for me from God the graces I ask through thy intercession.