St. Philomena

Despite many learned investigations, nothing has been discovered to throw light on the personal history of St. Philomena previous to the discovery of her relics in the Catacombs. Some of her ardent clients, however, emboldened by the sweet graciousness with which the dear Little Saint is accustomed to hear the prayers of her servants, besought her fervently to make known to them who she was and what she suffered for Jesus Christ. Their prayers were heard and the Saint has revealed to three of them, people living far apart and unknown to each other, the story of her life and martyrdom. These revelations, though of a private revelation, are nevertheless striking and carry with them no small weight of probability. The fact that they were made to three different persons and yet identical, is to say the least, a very extraordinary coincidence. Moreover, they tally with what is in keeping with the symbols that were found on her sarcophagus. These revelations have been widely published and the book containing them  given an Imprimatur by the Holy Office on December 21, 1833, to certify that nothing contained in it is harmful to the Faith or morals. We will only provide a small encapsulation of the revelations, as we prefer to encourage you to buy Fr. O' Sullivan's book from TAN BOOKS: HERE for the book and the poster image

St. Philomena was the daughter of the king of a small Grecian state and her mother was also of royal lineage. They were pagans who worshipped false gods. They had no children and prayed to these idols for a child. There was staying with them at the time a doctor from Rome, Publius, who was a Catholic and now a Saint, was touched by their "blindness" and inspired by the Holy Ghost, decided to speak to them about their false worship and tell them of the one true Catholic Faith. He assured them that their prayers would be heard if they embraced Catholicity. His fervent eloquence reached them, and aided by grace, they were finally Baptized. St. Philomena was born the following year on January 10th, and was named Lumena, or "Light," as she had been born in the light of the Faith, to which her parents were not most devoted. When she herself was Baptized they added to her name, to make Philomena, that is "Friend or Lover of the Light."

Her parents lavished every affection on her and she accompanied them to Rome in her 13th year, to plead for peace from war with the Emperor. The Emperor, while listening to the pleas of her father, kept looking at Philomena; he agreed to terms of peace, but only if Philomena would he is wife. her parents agreed to the request, but Philomena rejected the offer as she had already made a vow to Jesus Christ two years prior, a permanent vow of chastity. Her father tried to change her mind, but seeing her resolution, implore her more to agree to the marriage. The Emperor also renewed his intentions and while they were in Rome, he daily came to see her. Finally in a fit of fury, he had her chained in a dungeon. All through this ordeal her Divine Spouse supported her, as well as His Blessed Mother. This torment lasted for 37 days, when the Queen of Heaven appeared to the Saint, surrounded by a dazzling light, bearing her Divine Son in her arms, telling Philomena that she would be in the dungeon for three more days, saying she would leave on the 40th day of her sorrow, only to undergo a most cruel torture for the love of Jesus Christ, her Son. The Holy Virgin inspired her with courage and told her that she was so beloved by them both, not the least of which reasons why was that she bore the name of them both, Light, as the Sun for Christ, and the Moon for Mary. Our Lady promised the Saint that at the time of her martyrdom she would the Archangel Gabriel himself by her side as her protector against weakness.

She was bound to a pillar, and like Christ before her, she was savagely scourged. Seeing that she was one gaping, agonizing wound, the Emperor had her brought back to the [prison to die. Two bright Angels appeared and poured Heavenly balm on her wounds and she was cured. The Emperor was astonished. Because she still refused his blandishments, he was enraged and gave orders than an iron anchor should be attached to her neck and that she be thrown into the Tiber to drown. But Christ, once more to confound the tyrant, sent two more Angels to cut the cord of the anchor which fell to the bottom of the river and became embedded in the mud. Then the Angels brought her back to the bank without a single drop of water touching her garments. Several bystanders were converted. But Diocletian became more obstinate than ever, declared her a witch and ordered her pierced with arrows. Again Heaven saved her from the death planned for her. On hearing of this new miracle, the Emperor was so infuriated that he ordered the torture to be repeated until death came, but the arrows refused to leave the bow. So he had the arrows heated with flames from a furnace; again it was to no avail, for these last archers were slain by Heaven. More conversions occurred and the people began to show serious signs of disaffection towards the Emperor and even reverence for the Holy Faith. She was beheaded at last and ascended to glory in Heaven. It was 3 PM in the afternoon, of a Friday.

FEAST DAYS

January 10th: Birthday of the Saint; Sunday after January 10th: Patronage day of the Saint; May 25th: Celebration of the finding of the Holy Body of the Saint; August 10th: Celebration of the Translation of the Holy Body and the Martyrdom of the Saint; August 11th: Liturgical Feast in honor of the Saint; August 13th: Celebration of the name of Saint Philomena; Second Sunday of August: Solemn festivities in honor of the Saint;

NOTE:
Her Feast day was originally August 10, which also happened to be St. Lawrence's Feast, so out of respect for him, the Church moved the day forward by one. Also note that although the Holy See has not officially canonized her, devotion to her as a Saint has been officially endorsed. See Philomena and the Popes later.

Source: http://www.catholictradition.org/Saints/philomena.htm