Dear Devotee
In this month of May dedicated our Heavenly Mother Mary let us pray:
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb,
Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
Amen.
It is with the great joy during this Feast of the Discovery of the Sacred Body of Saint Philomena, 25th May, Catacombs of St. Pricilla in Rome. To announce the 70th Birthday of our Bishop of Nola, Archbishop Beniamino Depalma, who is the:
Honorary President of the Universal
Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena
Archbishop Beniamino Depalma was ordained a priest on 3rd April 1965 and was consecrated Bishop 16th January 1991. Became Archbishop of Amalfi – Cava de’Tirreni until 15the July 1999 when he then became Archbishop of Nola, in this diocese is held Sacred Body of Saint Philomena within the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena, Mugnano del Cardinale.
Let us keep him in our prayers in the ever growing Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena.
Dear Jesus Christ we thank you for allowing this Archconfraternity to continue to be ever blessed.
During last year’s May edition of the enewsletter I announced my new book in Italian being published. I am overjoyed to tell you that we now have it translated into English, French and Spanish and they are in the process of being published and will be ready for release in September.
Some of the most relevant information within the book for this feast is new scientific finding regarding the tomb of Saint Philomena.
The tomb was discovered on 25th May 1802 in the catacombs of Prisilla in Rome. The tomb had three terracotta slabs covering it, with markings stating that the person inside was a Virgin Martyr who was persecuted by arrows. It was also written on the tomb in Latin - PAX TECUM FILUMENA (Peace be with you Filumena). From the Sacred Relics within the tomb it was evident that it was a young female, virgin martyr around the age of thirteen. There was also a vial which has now been undoubtedly proven to have blood in it.
We also know from the scientific findings that this tomb was sealed only once which immediately stops any previous arguments that the tomb tiles where reused. This tomb was discovered in the oldest part of these catacombs which was reserved for very important Martyrs.
You can read in more details of this and much more in my new book. You can rest assured that the information in the book is accurate and has been personally researched by me for twenty six years.
My dear devotees of Saint Philomena join with me spiritually in these precious days of celebration and thanksgiving to our Lord Jesus Christ for giving to us such the wondrous and powerful tool of Saint Philomena in this dark world that we live in. A little girl so mature for her years who was so courageous and loving to God that she gave her life for Him. This should give us the courage of heart to seek her intercession and go forward particularly when we feel we are being beaten and attacked.
There are many changes occurring within the structure of the Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena at present and our next newsletter will outline many of them. We will talk about the ever growing devotion to Saint Philomena within the new Universal Archconfraternity worldwide under my guidance.
Please be assured of my prayers during the celebration of Holy Mass on this Feast Day offered for you and all Archconfraternity members and groups who spread devotion to our Princess. I wish you a very blessed day as we unite and join in prayer to Saint Philomena, powerful with God!
I now close as I pass you over to the words of our newly appointed Spiritual Director for the whole of the United States Fr. Robert Gibas, and honest and respected person. This is the first of many messages he will share with you. Please listen to him as there is no doubt in his ability to guide the devotees and workers of the Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena within the U.S. and beyond with his words.
With my deepest affection and appreciation,
Msgr. Giovanni Braschi
Rector of the Shrine of Saint Philomena
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From the Heart of Fr. G. Robert Gibas
Having been recently appointed by Msgr. Braschi to the role of Spiritual Director for the Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena throughout the United States, I wish to thank Msgr. for the confidence he has placed in me and for the opportunity to have a greater part in the spreading of her Devotion, especially throughout the United States.
To better appreciate this Devotion, I suggest we review the history of the Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena. You will find on the Website – www.philomena.us, an article entitled, The History of the Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena, which points out to us that the Archconfraternity is the work of a zealous French priest, Fr. Petit. In 1859, Fr. Petit consecrated his life to making the "Little Saint" known and loved. He wanted to make it clear that what he was establishing was not intended to replace the cult of the Blessed Virgin or the adoration of God. Fr. Petit says that through our devotion to Saint Philomena we proclaim the power of God in the strength of His Martyrs, and his infinite Goodness manifested in the favors he grants through their intercession on our behalf.
In November of 1886, Pope Leo XIII, raised the Confraternity of Saint Philomena to the rank of Archconfraternity. In June of 1907, the Pope received Fr. Petit in audience and told Fr. Petit that he was saddened by certain detractors claiming that St. Philomena didn’t exist. "It is incredible," the Pope said, "that such things can come about without them looking at the great argument in favor of the saint, the holy Cure of Ars. By her, in her name, and through her intercession, he obtained innumerable graces and continued prodigies."
As an act of final affirmation of the cult of Saint Philomena and to give what we might say is the final word, Pope Pius X raised the Archconfraternity of St. Philomena to the status of a Universal Archconfraternity ("Pius Fidelium Societates"). The Holy Father further stated that whatever decisions and declarations were made by his previous successors should in no way be altered.
The Archconfraternity is an association of prayer and apostolate inviting us to commit ourselves to the work of promoting the Gospel message: that we have been called to love God with all our heart and soul and to love one another as He loves us. Our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has suggested that we use the popular social media to get this gospel message out. There are other means: newspapers, magazines pamphlets etc. Is it possible that we could invest some of our resources in helping organizations, or individuals, who have dedicated themselves to such activities?
St. John Vianney was especially concerned about the education of children and the youth. And so should we be. As an association dedicated to honor a 13-year old virgin martyr who gave her life to defend her faith and virginity, we too, should want our children and youth to have enough appreciation of our Catholic faith to proclaim and defend it at whatever cost the Lord asks of them.
I suggest that we all review the structure of the Archconfraternity as given in the article "The History of the Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena", that appears on the Sanctuary’s webiste. I also suggest we declare the membership we choose to embrace and record it. Also, attempt to encourage children and youth to do likewise. I believe that it would be a good idea to review the structure each year in addition to the obligations, privileges and feast days.
All that I have suggested here I am doing with the members of our Archconfraternity at St. Clement Parish in Navarre, Ohio. I wonder if the fact that we are located in Bethlehem (House of Bread) Township is a mere coincidence.
Please keep me in your prayers as I will all of you. We celebrate a special Mass on the third Saturday of the month for the intentions of the living and deceased members of our Archconfraternity. I will extend it to include all living and deceased members of the Universal Archconfraternity. Pray with me in a spirit of gratitude for the generous love with which Saint Philomena has embraced me. She has helped me overcome serious temptations against purity; she has also encouraged me not to give up during some difficult times in recent years; she tells me I am not a failure as a priest (a statement with which satan constantly nags me); she intercedes with me as I pray the Rosary, asking Our Blessed Mother to help me to know, love and serve Jesus now and forever.
Through the intercession of Saint Philomena, Virgin and Martyr, may the Father bless us with the gift of the Holy Spirit that we may boldly proclaim with her: Jesus is Lord!
Fr. Gibas
~ ~ ~
Saint Philomena,
Powerful with God,
Pray for Us!
