Who is Saint Philomena?

A virgin and martyr venerated since the discovery of her relics in Rome in 1802; St. Pius X declared her patroness of the children of the Church.

Saint Philomena

Feast day: August 11

Virgin and martyr venerated since the discovery of her relics in Rome.

The relics of St. Philomena were discovered in 1802 in the Catacombs of Priscilla, Rome, with a slab marking virgin and martyr.

Devotion spread rapidly across Europe and the Americas, with countless graces attributed to her intercession.

St. Pius X declared her patroness of the children of the Church and called her «the great unknown of the nineteenth century.»

Tradition tells she was a Greek princess martyred for refusing marriage to Emperor Diocletian.

Though removed from the Roman calendar in 1961 for lack of secure historical data, devotion remains alive in the Church.

Her traditional liturgical feast is August 11. She is invoked for youth, purity, and difficult causes.

To the virgin and martyr of the early Church, we ask purity, courage, and graces through powerful intercession.