PHILOMENA, Saint. — In 1802 a body was exhumed from the cemetery of Priscilla, whose tomb bore an inscription in minium on three tiles, the last of which had been moved to the first position, so as to give the following reading: TUMENA PAX TECUM Fs. In the tomb was also found a small glass bottle, which was taken to be an ampulla of blood (q.v.).
When the body was brought to Mugnano del Cardinale (diocese of Nola) in 1805, Canon Francesco Di Lucia claimed to narrate the story of St. Philomena and her martyrdom, whence the veneration of the Saint, which spread rapidly within and beyond Italy, augmented by the fame of miracles. Among the many devotees of St. Philomena was also the holy curé of Ars. At the request of the bishops of Nepi and Sutri and of Nola, and on the basis of the fame of miracles, the Sacred Congregation of Rites granted the Mass and Office for 11 August with a proper lesson, in which no assertions are made either about her life or her martyrdom (Decreta ann. 1837-38, f. 18).
Historically, St. Philomena is unknown to any hagiographical or liturgical source of ancient Christianity. The information disseminated by Canon Di Lucia, who places the Saint in the time of Diocletian and calls her the daughter of a king of Greece, is purely imaginary. Everything suggests that the inscription was reused, so that even the name may not correspond to the body venerated.
FOLKLORE. — The popular cult of the Saint is particularly widespread in southern Italy. Evidence of this is also the widespread use of this baptismal name among the lower classes. The legend of the Saint inspired a poem of 43 octaves (*Storia della gloriosa vergine e martire Filomena [sic] composta in ottave da un suo divoto*, Lucca 1855; reprint, Prato 1857) and a song of 32 quatrains in seven-line stanzas (Naples 1849; reprint, Florence 1901), with a crude illustration on the title page depicting the Saint with a palm in her right hand and a pilgrim’s staff in her left, and an angel descending to bring her a laurel wreath; on the left, the same Saint in the act of being struck by the arrows of a tormentor. This latter song has been spread and preserved among the people also through oral tradition. Both compositions are of incorrect form and contain Neapolitan expressions.