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:

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:

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.

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.

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.