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| Amid the hard realities of modern life it is assuredly a real and solid joy, as well as an inestimable privilege, to visit one of those favoured spots marked out by the providence of God as the scenes of special acts of His mercy, and of His tender interest in us His children. In these hallowed places, not merely temporal favors, but also spiritual gifts and graces of the most extraordinary character are of constant occurrence. Such a spot, in these our days of scoffing incredulity - when even the faith of the most fervent Catholic is apt at times to burn with a saddened and troubled light - is Mugnano del Cardinale ( So called on account of Cardinal Louis of Arrragon having lived for a long time in its neighborhood.), in the kingdom of Naples. Lying about seven or eight leagues from the city, in the providence of Avellino, and at the commencement of the long and steep accent of Monteforte, it is a quiet and picturesque-looking place, possessing scarcely any claims to material prosperity, and quite out of the beaten track of the mere tourist. Still, in spite of drawbacks which are equally shared by other popular places of pilgrimage, the little Italian splendid body of Saint Philomena (The name is of Greek origin, and is the feminine particle, (the) Beloved; it is not derived from filia lumnis - daughter of light. The name well agrees with her whom an affectionate piety has christened the dear little Saint.) is exposed to the veneration unvarnished account of the discovery of the tomb and relics of this illustrious virgin-martyr, some of her extraordinary miracles, and what the Church as competent authority hold regarding her, derived respectively from the three lessons of the second Nocturn of her Proper Office, and from the conclusions of Christian archaeology. It may be well to state at the outset that the principal foundations on which devotion to this saint rests are the authority of the Church and miracles, and not piously-excited imagination, and are contradicted, as wall by sacred archeology as by the historical impossibilities they contain. These revelations have attracted much attention, and excited no small devotion to our Saint; but she has used an absolute reserve whenever there was question of adopting them on her own account. |
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There are many shrines to Saint Philomena worldwide but there is only one Sanctuary which holds her Sacred Body.
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