Pope Gregory XVI
declares
Virgin & Martyr Philomena a SAINT
by his decree on January 30, 1837

The Sacred Congregation of Rites, with the decree of September 6, 1834, granted to the secular and regular clergy of the Diocese of Nola the permission to pray, on the 11th of August, the Mass of the Common of a Virgin Martyr, and the Divine Office with the Fourth Lesson in honor of Saint Philomena Virgin and Martyr. Pope Gregory XVI approved this decree on January 30, 1837.

By approving this degree he is announcing this is a public cult (devotion) and in adhering to all conditions of the canonization in that period (which has not been greatly changed today, but has only been added to) Pope Gregory XVI proclaims the martyr and virgin Philomena a Saint.

Because of his various decrees, which were promulgated with the greatest care, he is considered the Pope who most promoted the devotional cult of Saint Philomena. It was his decree of 1837 that solemnly confirmed the re-script of the Congregation of Rites of 1834. The Pope himself donated to the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena a precious medallion with his effigy, a large silver votive lamp with golden decorations, and a golden chalice, which are kept in the Sanctuary Treasury.

Seeing the discrepancy of the dates between the approval of the sacred Congregation of Rites (9/6/1834) and the approval of Pope Gregory XVI (1/30/1837), and understanding the importance of the Decree, it is right to make a more detailed description of its approval procedure.

In 1833 Mons. Anselmo Basilici, Bishop of Sutri and Nepi, requested to the Holy See the institution of a special feast in honor of Saint Philomena. In the meantime, Mons. Gennaro Pasca, Bishop of Nola, was preparing a lesson for the breviary. Most of the Italian Bishops sustained the request of their brethren. It was an unusual attitude in favor of a Saint that no martyrology had ever mentioned, and of whom no angiography had ever reported her name, and was learned only from a simple sepulchral inscription. But the miracles performed by the Saint supported this cause. With decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, on September 6, 1834, favorable opinion was given to the decree that Pope Gregory XVI will approve only on January 30, 1837. Seeing the favorable opinion, Monsignor Basilici asked for an audience to the Pope to better plead his cause. He wanted to offer to the Holy Father a miracle which had happened in his own hands: the multiplication of the Saint’s relics. He was received on June 16, 1835. He showed how the veneration for Saint Philomena’s relics had spread all over the world: in Russia, Belgium, Poland, Greece, France, Armenia, Americas, and so on, thanks to the prodigies performed by the Saint. The Pope showed interest in everything and especially in the miracle of the multiplication of the relics. The Holy Father commissioned the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites to carefully examine the case. The test was carried out on June 17, 1835, and had a positive outcome. But Pope Gregory XVI was still uncertain whether to accept the decree: approving the solemn cult of a Saint that no martyrology was a highly rare event for the Church. In this period the miracle of Giovanna Cescutti took place in Venice on July 6th, 1835 and the more famous miracle of Pauline Jaricot in Mugnano on August 10th, 1836, of which Pope Gregory XVI was an eye witness and he defined it a first order miracle. It was only then, January 30, 1837, that Gregory XVI solemnly approved the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites of September 6, 1834. Therefore the Church recognized Saint Philomena’s title of Virgin and Martyr and affirms the truth of the miracles which happened through her intercession. In fact, the request of Monsignor Basilici determined for Saint Philomena a true canonization process. It seems that this is a unique case in the history of the Church, being that her earthly life was unknown. The Church had only relied on sure events, like the miracles taken into consideration. The seriousness and scrupulousness of the process is very well described in the decree (Cfr. G. IPPOLITO, op. Cit., pp. 22-123; pp. 205-206).

MARTYR

The first people honored as saints were the martyrs. Pious legends of their deaths were considered to affirm the truth of their faith in Christ. The Roman Rite's Canon of the Mass contains the names only of martyrs, along with that of the Virgin Mary and, and since 1962, that of Saint Joseph.

SAINT
Supreme Pontiff is responsible for Canonization
To present day

By the Rite of Canonization the Supreme Pontiff, by an act which is protected from error by the Holy Spirit, elevates a person to the universal veneration of the Church. By canonization the Pope does not make the person a saint. Rather, he declares that the person is with God and is an example of following Christ worthy of imitation by the faithful. A Mass, Divine Office and other acts of veneration, may now be offered throughout the universal Church.

If the saint has universal appeal he may be added to the general calendar of the Church as a Memorial or Optional Memorial. If the appeal is localized to a region of the world, a particular nation, or a particular religious institute, the saint may be added to the particular calendars of those nations or institutes, or celebrated by the clergy and faithful with a devotion to the saint with a votive Mass or Office.

The liturgical cult in the pontifical documents

1. Pope Leo XII, with the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, on March 15, 1826 only granted the celebration of the solemn Mass de Communi Virginum et Mart. (from the Common of Virgins and Martyrs) on the day of Saint Philomena’s feast, in her Sanctuary of Mugnano del Cardinale, as long as it was not a fixed Sunday occurring on the Office Double of First class.
2. Pope Gregory XVI, with the decree of September 6, 1834, granted the singing of the Mass even on a Sunday, as long as the feast falls on the 10th of August, the day of the Translation of the Saint’s body from Rome to Mugnano.
3. The Sacred Congregation of Rites, with the decree of September 6, 1834, granted to the secular and regular clergy of the Diocese of Nola the permission to pray, on the 11th of August, the Mass of the Common of a Virgin Martyr, and the Divine Office with the Fourth Lesson in honor of Saint Philomena Virgin and Martyr. Pope Gregory XVI approved this decree on January 30, 1837.
4. Pope Gregory XVI, with the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, on March 16, 1839 grants to the clergy of Mugnano permission to recite the Office of Saint Philomena Virgin and Martyr on her feast, as a double major rite.
5. Pope Gregory XVI, with the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, on January 1, 1841 promotes the Office of Saint Philomena Virgin and Martyr to double rite of second class, without an Octave, in her own Church of Mugnano.
6. Pope Pius IX, at the request of King Ferdinand II of Bourbon in 1854 proclaims Saint Philomena second Patroness of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, where the devotion toward the glorious Martyr is widely spread.
7. Pope Pius IX, on January 11, 1855, approves the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, granting the clergy of Mugnano the new Office with its own Mass in honor of Saint Philomena Virgin and Martyr, as a double rite of second class.
8. Pope Pius IX, on January 15, 1857, approves the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, at the request of Monsignor Joseph Formisano, Bishop of Nola, extending to the secular and regular clergy of the diocese of Nola the permission to celebrate, as a double minor rite, the proper Office with the Mass in honor of Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, already approved and granted to the clergy of Mugnano and other dioceses.
9. Pope Pius IX, on April 15, 1858, approves the decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites that grants the foreign priests who go to Mugnano to visit the Sacred Body of Saint Philomena, the indult to celebrate once only the Saint’s votive mass at her altar, although it would require the Office of double rite, excluding the double rite days of first and second class, the holidays, the vigils and the privileged octaves.
10. Pope Pius IX, with the Pontifical Brief of December 9, grants temporarily to the Rector of the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena in Mugnano the privilege to use the pontifical insignia to carry out all the sacred functions in the Sanctuary.
11. Pope Leo XIII, on January 14, 1896, establishes the Feast of the Patronage Feast of Saint Philomena.
12. Pope Leo XIII, with a Pontifical Brief, grants a privileged altar in the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena.
13. Pope Leo XIII, promotes the feast of Saint Philomena to second class rite for the whole Diocese of Nola.

The festivities mentioned are taken from: D. BALBONI, Santa Filomena, Vergine Romana (Saint Philomena, Roman Virgin), in notebooks of Collegium Cultorum Martyrum, 5 Rome 1986, p. 15; - F. TROCHU, op. cit. ; G. IPPOLITO, op. cit..

The popular cult in the pontificate documents

1. Pope Leo XII, with a rescript of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, on May 10, 1826, declares the altar of Saint Philomena as daily privileged.

2. Pope Gregory XVI declares Saint Philomena the Patroness of the Living Rosary.

3. Pope Pius IX (more than once) grants indulgences, both plenary and partial, and other privileges to the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena with proper decrees bearing the following dates: October 16, 1849; May 4, 1852; January 4, 1853; December 31, 1853; March 18, 1859; June 26, 1863; July 3, 1863.

4. Pope Leo XIII, on December 15, 1883, approves the sacramental of the “Cord of Saint Philomena” and on April 4, 1884 he enriches it with special indulgences.

5. Pope Leo XIII, on September 24, 1889, grants the privilege and the title Archconfraternity to the work of Saint Philomena, throughout France.

6. Pope Pius X, on May 21, 1912, extends to the whole Church the Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena. This pious association is thus proclaimed a Universal Archconfraternity. In the Apostolic Brief, with regard to the historical authenticity of Saint Philomena, he ordains that: “The current statements (regarding St. Philomena) are and remain always fixed, valid and effective; in this way it has to be judged as normative; and if it is proceeded in another way, it will be null and void, whatever its authority”.

The information of the above can be found in the Brief Pontificates, stored in the Vatican Secret Archives, transcribed by the archivist Isoli, 1996; and in the work of G. IPPOLITO, cit., at the pp. 113-117, and 165-167.

Brief History of Canonization Process

The official process for declaring someone a saint is called canonization. Prior to the year 1234, the Church did not have a formal process as such. Usually martyrs and those recognized as holy were declared saints by the Church at the time of their deaths. Before the legalization of Christianity in the year 313 by Emperor Constantine, the tombs of martyrs, like St. Peter, were marked and kept as places for homage. The anniversaries of their deaths were remembered and placed on the local Church calendar. After legalization, oftentimes basilicas or shrines were built over these tombs.
As time went on, the Church saw the need to tighten the canonization process. In 1588, Pope Sixtus V entrusted the Congregation of Rites (later named the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints) to oversee the entire process. Beginning with Pope Urban VIII in 1634, various Popes have revised and improved the norms and procedures for canonization.
Today the process proceeds as follows: When a person dies who has "fame of sanctity" or "fame of martyrdom," the Bishop of the Diocese usually initiates the investigation. One element is whether any special favor or miracle has been granted through this candidate saint's intercession. The Church will also investigate the candidate's writings to see if they possess "purity of doctrine," essentially, nothing heretical or against the faith. All of this information is gathered, and then a transumptum, a faithful copy, duly authenticated and sealed, is submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.

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Once the cause is accepted by the Congregation, further investigation is conducted. If the candidate was a martyr, the Congregation determines whether she died for the faith and truly offered her life in a sacrifice of love for Christ and the Church.

In the Catholic Church, canonization involves a decree that allows veneration of the saint in the liturgy of the Roman Rite throughout the world. For permission to venerate on a local level, only beatification is needed, not canonization.

From the 18th to the 20th century

In his De Servorum Dei beatifιcatione et de Beatorum canonizatione, the eminent canonist Prospero Lambertini (1675–1758), who later became Pope Benedict XIV, elaborated upon the procedural norms issued by Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) and the actual established practice. From his time until the 20th century proceedings were governed by his five-volume work published in 1734–1738. Its substance was incorporated into the Code of Canon Law of 1917. The article Beatification and canonization process in 1914 describes the procedures followed immediately before the publication of that Code.

For a martyr, the Pope has only to make a declaration of martyrdom, a certification that the venerable gave his or her life voluntarily as a witness for the faith and/or in an act of heroic charity for others.
"Saint" (contracted "St" or "S."): To be canonized a saint; at least two miracles must have been performed through the saint's intercession after his or her death (i.e., an additional miracle after that granting beatification). Canonization is a statement by the church that the person certainly enjoys the Beatific Vision. The saint is assigned a feast day which may be celebrated anywhere within the Catholic Church, although it may or may not appear on the general calendar or local calendars as an obligatory feast, parish churches may be built in his or her honor, and the faithful may freely and without restriction celebrate and honor the saint.

Equipollent canonization

Popes have several times extended to the whole Church, without carrying out the ordinary judicial process of canonization described above, the veneration as a saint (the "cultus") of someone long venerated as such locally. This action by a Pope is known as equipollent (or equivalent) canonization or "confirmation of cultus". According to the rules laid down by Pope Benedict XIV, there are three conditions for such a canonization: an ancient cultus, a general constant attestation by trustworthy historians to the virtues or martyrdom of the person, and an uninterrupted fame as a worker of miracles.





Msgr. Giovanni Braschi
Rector of the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena
Custodian of her Sacred Body

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