Saint Philomena
The little saint of the catacombs, whom heaven made known through wonders — and under whose care this shop was placed from its first day.
Three tiles sealed her tomb. Read in order from the last, they say
Pax tecum, Filumena — “Peace be with thee, Philomena.”
A tomb in the catacombs
On the 25th of May 1802, workers excavating the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla on Rome’s Via Salaria uncovered a sealed tomb that had lain untouched for some fifteen centuries. Within lay the bones of a girl of about thirteen years, and beside them a small glass vial of the kind the early Christians used to mark the resting place of a martyr’s blood.
The tomb was closed with three terracotta tiles, painted with an anchor, arrows, a palm and a lily — the emblems of martyrdom and purity — and with the inscription that gave the young martyr her name: Pax tecum, Filumena. Nothing else was known of her. No legend, no history, no record. Only a name, a promise of peace, and the signs of a life given wholly to Christ.
It would not stay that way for long.
Her symbols
The Anchor
Hope held fast in Christ — and the instrument of one of her torments, when she was cast into the Tiber.
The Arrows
The arrows loosed against her, which tradition says would not harm her — trials turned aside by grace.
The Palm
The ancient sign of martyrdom: a victory won not by the sword, but by fidelity unto death.
The Lily
Purity of heart — a virginity consecrated to Christ and kept at the cost of her life.
Her story
History left us no account of Philomena’s life — but her devotees received one. In the years after her relics were enshrined, a Neapolitan nun, Mother Maria Luisa di Gesù, recorded in prayer the story that has been lovingly handed down ever since.
Philomena was a young Greek princess who, at about eleven years of age, consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ. When the Emperor Diocletian sought her hand, she refused to break her promise to her heavenly Spouse — and no threat could move her. She was scourged; she was bound to an anchor and cast into the Tiber; she was shot with arrows. Tradition holds that angels tended her wounds and turned the arrows aside, until at last, around the age of thirteen, she won her crown by the sword.
A child, by the world’s measure. A conqueror, by heaven’s. Her whole story fits on three small tiles — an anchor, arrows, a palm, a lily, and a name — and it has been enough to move mountains.
The little saint who would not stay hidden
- 1802 Her tomb is discovered in the Catacomb of Saint Priscilla in Rome, sealed with the tiles reading Pax tecum, Filumena.
- 1805 A young priest, Don Francesco De Lucia, obtains her relics and brings them home to Mugnano del Cardinale, near Naples. Favours and cures begin at once — and never stop.
- 1835 Venerable Pauline Jaricot, foundress of the Propagation of the Faith, gravely ill with heart disease, is cured at Philomena’s shrine in Mugnano — a wonder examined in Rome itself.
- 1837 Pope Gregory XVI authorises her public veneration. Philomena is raised to the altars on the strength of her wonders alone — known ever after as the Wonder-Worker.
- Today Devotion to Saint Philomena continues across the world, and pilgrims still fill her sanctuary at Mugnano — above all each August, in the days around her feast.
Her friends among the saints
You judge a saint, as you judge anyone, a little by their friends — and Philomena kept remarkable company.
- Saint John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, built a shrine to her in his little church, sent penitents to her by the thousand, and attributed his own famous miracles to “my dear little saint.”
- Venerable Pauline Jaricot, foundress of the Propagation of the Faith, was cured through her intercession and spent her life spreading devotion to her.
- Saint Peter Julian Eymard and Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat were counted among her devoted clients.
- Pope Gregory XVI raised her to the altars, and Blessed Pope Pius IX named her Patroness of the Children of Mary.
She is invoked especially for babies, children and young people, for purity, for priests, and for causes that look impossible — the specialty of a thirteen-year-old girl who outlasted an empire.
Why our shop bears her name
We wanted this little shop to belong to a saint before it belonged to us — and we could think of no better guardian than Philomena. Her name has been lovingly read as daughter of light, and that is exactly what we hope each gift will be: a small light in someone’s home. A rosary on a bedside table, a bracelet on a wrist, Our Lady watching from a frame on the wall.
She was young, she was faithful, and she is astonishingly generous to those who ask her help. So every piece we make is made under her patronage, and every parcel we post carries the greeting that was written over her resting place — Pax tecum, peace be with you.
O faithful virgin and glorious martyr, Saint Philomena, wonder-worker of our age, look with pity upon our needs. Thou who art so powerful with God, obtain for us purity of heart, courage in trial, and the graces we ask of thee. Saint Philomena, beloved daughter of Jesus and Mary, pray for us. Amen.