The Solemn Celebration of the Mass on the Feast day of Saint Philomena on the second Sunday of August - 8th August 2010
Dear Devotees of St. Philomena, As
October is dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, I urge you especially
to pray to her, make an altar to her, give her flowers and say the
rosary, even if only for this month. The Sanctuary, church of Our Lady
of Grace, will recite the rosary daily in Her honor and I invite each
of you to join in from your home. October is also a good time to
acknowledge the work done by Dorothy Westfall in Phoenix, Arizona,
United States, for “Rosary Sunday.” For thirty-six years Dorothy has
worked tirelessly to make Rosary Sunday a joyous and spiritual day for
thousands of Catholics in Arizona. And because Dorothy always includes
tributes to St. Philomena, those who have attended these special
celebrations to honor Our Lady can attest to the success of Dorothy's
endeavors as they witness the increase in devotion to the Rosary and to
St. Philomena. 
It
is with great pleasure that I share with you the events held here at
the Sanctuary and worldwide throughout the month of August. The months
of August and September are very busy for us here at the Sanctuary and
the vacation time in Italy is typically August. The result of this is
little time for work within the office during this period and this is
the reason you have not received your newsletter before now. Highlights
of several August celebrations held by Archconfraternity Centers across
the globe for St. Philomena follow. I thank each person involved in the
organization of these events and all who attended. Please see the link
at the bottom of this message of where the feast celebrations from
around the world took place. As you know, the month
of August is dedicated to St. Philomena, here, at the Sanctuary in
Italy. This year, once again, brought glory and joy for the thousands
of devotees who took part in our celebrations. Spirits soared during
the celebrations of Holy Mass and as the special processions and
external feasts unfolded throughout August. The love of the faithful
was very strong and the presence of our saint was apparent to all.  Pilgrims
arrived daily with organized groups and along with individuals who
stayed at the Sanctuary Pilgrim Center. These official pilgrimages were
initiated by our Center in Australia on August 2-6. The group was led
by Mary McAndrew (representative of Victoria and coordinator of the
Archconfraternity in Australia) and the group’s Spiritual Director,
Father Enda Naughton from Knock, Ireland. There were 50 pilgrims in the
group, many of whom had visited the Sanctuary in the past. This was an
exceptional group of devotees and I thoroughly enjoyed their company.
The work of organizing and overseeing a pilgrimage is a great
undertaking, especially when travelling from the other side of the
world, and I want to acknowledge and thank Mary McAndrew for another
job well done.
Also represented at the Sanctuary in
August were Haiti, France, the UK, Canada, USA and Italy. St. Philomena
lovingly drew these devotees from all parts of the world and united
them at the center of her worldwide devotion – her earthly home in
Mugnano, Italy. Thank you to everyone who sent donations to help toward
this feast day. Your generosity helped ease the financial burden of the
external celebrations. The income from the purchases at our online shop
assisted our Sanctuary and went toward the feast celebrations too. I
pray that you will enjoy the photos of this year’s events and reflect
on the wonderful spiritual connection we share through our devotion to
Christ, Our Blessed Mother and St. Philomena. It is always a blessing
to be given another year in which to celebrate these devotions and to
praise God for His many blessings over our joint works for our Catholic
faith. It was very fulfilling to meet so many beautiful, spiritual
people of God. I am particularly grateful to God and to St. Philomena
for my position as Rector of the Sanctuary. We also
have wonderful news from our Wisconsin Center (the National U.S. Shrine
to St. Philomena) regarding the newly appointed Bishop of the Diocese
of La Crosse, Wisconsin. I welcome Bishop William Patrick Callahan to
the Family of St. Philomena, and pray for his mission. Please
join me in praying for our Holy Father. I prayed throughout my visit in
Ireland for a joyful welcome for the Holy Father’s visit to United
Kingdom. I continued these prayers at the Altar of St. Philomena for
the Holy Father’s trip to the UK, and prayed especially for the
intercession of St. Philomena. Continue your prayers for the Holy
Father as he tirelessly carries out his papacy and courageously
shepherds our Holy Mother Church in the footsteps of St. Peter.  Allow
me to close this message by saying just one word – Ireland! Since my
visit there in September, which I enjoyed tremendously, the generosity
of the people of Ireland have once again warmed my soul. I send out a
special welcome to the many devotees from Ireland who have visited the
Sanctuary since then and to those who are scheduled to visit the
Pilgrim Center in the near future.
Our Family of St.
Philomena is a great one in many ways and I give thanks each day for
the blessing of belonging. Remember, St. Philomena always hears our
prayers. Let us live by her example and live out the purity she modeled
for us all. "Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God." – Matthew 5:8 May God bless each of you and your loved ones. Be assured of my continued prayers for you at the Sacred Altar of St. Philomena. With love and devotion,
Monsignor Giovanni Braschi.
Installation Mass of Bishop William Patrick Callahan 
10th Bishop—
11 August 2010
Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman
Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA Taken from page 7 of this document of Bishop Callahan’s Installation homily. "As
my first collaborators in our common task of claiming souls for Christ,
I look forward to the faithful and loving fraternity of the priests of
this diocese. I promise you that I will be steadfast in my support for
you and do my best with you as spiritual father, brother, and friend,
as we work together in this bountiful portion of the Lord’s vineyard.
Today, we keep the memorial of St. Philomena, the faithful patroness
and heavenly friend of St. John Vianney, the patron of priests. On the
day after my announcement here as bishop, on my return trip to
Milwaukee, a brother priest and I stopped at the one of the many small St.
Philomena shrines, in Briggsville, in the Diocese of Madison. I took the
occasion to light a candle there and offer a prayer for all of you, my
dear brother priests. I entrust you to her care and most certainly to
our beloved Holy Mother, the Immaculate Virgin Mary, whom we honor and
revere in our diocese in a special way under the title Our Lady of
Guadalupe—Our Lady of the Americas."
Places In Other Parts Of The World Where Feasts In Honour To St. Philomena Were Celebrated During The Month Of August
And Reported To Us 
One of many small shrines of St. Philomena, this one in, Briggsville, WI U.S.A
St Peter Chanel Catholic Church
11330 Woodstock Road, Roswell. Georgia
USA
For Archconfraternity and St. Philomena prayer group contact:
Carol Davis
Carol Davis at (770) 335-5107
e-mail: cad@southeastdatacom.com
Shrine of Our Lady of Peace
2800 Mission College Boulevard
Santa Clara, California 95054
U.S.A.
Contact: Caroline Acejas:
email: staphilomina@gmail.com
St. Daniel the Prophet Parish
in Scottsdale Arizona, U.S.A
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church
1908 Short Street Kenner, LA 70062
(504) 464-0361
St. Bridget Catholic Church
220 N. 14th St., Las Vegas, NV 89101-4312
(702) 384-3382 * Fax (702) 382-9467
E-mail: sbcclv@earthlink.net
Website: www.stbridgetlv.org
Saint Mary Catholic Church –
Salem, South Dakota, USA
St. Mary Roman Catholic Church –
East Dubuque, IL- USA
Sainte Philomène
210 Rue Principale
Fortierville, Québec
Canada
Santa Filomena Church
Paradera 51
Paradera, Aruba
Phone: (297) 582-1400
Fax: (297) 582-4923
St. Joseph's Parish
Fraser Street,
Rochester, Country Victoria 3561, Australia
Confrerie Saint Philomène
de la Guyane
Representative Stephanie Dinga: nel-steph@hotmail.fr
Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena Abidajan,
Cote d’Ivoire Saint Albert le Grande Church
Some photo’s of the August Feast and pilgrim visits
here at the Sanctuary 
Visit to Co. Carlow, Ireland In
the second week of September I went to Garryhill Bagenalstown Co.
Carlow, Ireland for a gathering with the devotees of Saint Philomena,
organized by John Rice our Representative of Co. Carlow, Ireland. To
launch the visit a meeting and Mass took place in John’s home. The
celebration of Holy Mass was also arranged in the Cathedral of the
Assumption in Co.Carlow, which was concelebrated Mgr Braschi and Fr.
Padraig Shelley. Many thanks and appreciation to:
John and his family for warm hospitality
Fr. John McEvoy, who translated my message to the devotees during the celebration of the Holy Mass at the Cathedral.
Mr Daniel O Rourke who translated for me during my whole stay in Co. Carlow. 
The Holy Mass celebrated in John Rice’s Home – Garryhill Bagenalstown- co. carlow- Ireland 
Msg. Giovanni Braschi with Fr. Padraig shelley and Fr. John McEvoy at the Cathedral of the Assumption in Co. Carlow, Ireland 
The Cathedral of the Assumption in Co. Carlow, Ireland 
Mr & Mrs Rice with devotees outside the Cathedral of the Assumption in Co. Carlow, Ireland
Help Support the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena
Home to St Philomena devotees worldwide If
you can, please send a donation, if not pray for the works of the
Sanctuary, tell people about them and spread the devotion to our Little
Saint. Ways to send a donation If you are able to send a donation please use these methods By
personal check payable to the "Sanctuary of St. Philomena" and make
sure to send it through registered or express mail to the Sanctuary's
address which is at the bottom of this newsletter. Online with credit card or through www.Paypal.com to the Sanctuary's
e-mail address: SantaFilomena@philomena.it
you will find further information and full procedure on our web site
under the heading donate or by clicking the following donation button. By bank transfer to the Sanctuary's Bank account:
SANTUARIO SANTA FILOMENA
BANCA DELLA CAMPANIA – fil n° 0007
BANK ACCOUNT: n° 1279013
SWIFT CODE: BPMOIT22
IBAN: IT19L0539275790000001279013 For
U.S. Donations - For the U.S. devotees that wish to make a tax
deductible donation to Archconfraternity of St. Philomena, this may be
mailed to:
Archconfraternity of St. Philomena
1970 Bridle Ridge Trace
Roswell, GA. 30075-2162 , USA
You will receive a letter of acknowledgment and thanks when your donation is received.
Contact the Sanctuary
Secretaries are available from Monday - Saturday
English 9:30a.m. to 12.30p.m. - Matilde - Personal Assistant to Mgr. Braschi
French 9.30a.m. to 12.30p.m. - Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday
Santuario Santa Filomena
83027 Mugnano del Cardinale
Avellino, Italy
tel:011 39 081 825 7204
fax:011 39 081 511 2733
http://www.philomena.it
e-mail:SantaFilomena@philomena.it | 
