Daughter of a king

Mary O’Regan on the martyrdom of St Philomena

I was astounded by the reaction to my last column on St Philomena. I’d known St Philomena to be an awesome advocate, but after I shared my devotion to her with certain young friends of mine, they invited her intercession, and the results were staggering. Some of them are very young and had certainly never heard of her or prayed to her. But when they did, they recovered from illnesses, both physical and mental, and baffled the doctors. I prayed to St Philomena for someone who’d been far from the sacraments for some time and now they have made a sincere confession and they are going to the Latin Mass! Most especially, a few pregnant women enjoyed Philomena’s help and had very easy labours.

So much so, that champagne corks were flying in the wake of Philomena’s intercession, and we joked that maybe champagne could be a symbol of Philomena’s amazing aid. There was, however, one persistent question asked about her. They were surprised that since Philomena was a princess, the daughter of a Greek king, why did she suffer so horribly under Emperor Diocletian? I mean, if she was royal, did she not have special protection? Could her father have used his regal influence to save her? Well, as it turns out, Philomena was not a powerful princess in this life, but she certainly is in Heaven. So, this is the second in a two-part series about St Philomena, where I seek to give her life context, because, in this pandemic, we need her more than ever!

Philomena was born in modern day Corfu. Both her parents were royal, but this was 291 and Greece was under Roman rule. For some years before Philomena was born, her parents had suffered the cross of infertility. They were pagans and sacrificed to their false gods, but they remained childless. They were attended by Publius, a Roman doctor who led them to Christ and he even promised that they would have a baby if they became Christians. His words proved prophetic. Not long after they were baptized, they welcomed baby Philomena into their household; Philomena means “Friend of the Light”. The royal couple doted on their little girl. When she was 13, Corfu was threatened by war, and her father decided to go to Rome and negotiate peace with Emperor Diocletian. He went with his wife and daughter, who was young but gloriously beautiful. Diocletian listened to the Greek king implore him not to make war, but kept his eyes on Philomena. After the Greek king had pleaded his case, Diocletian assured him he would not start a conflict on one condition: “I will place the forces of the Empire at your disposal on condition you give me the hand of your fair daughter Philomena in marriage.” This offer was accepted by Philomena’s parents. They tried to pressure their daughter into marrying the Emperor, telling her it would be a grand life, to be Empress of the world, but two year earlier, Philomena had vowed to be a virgin for Christ and had pledged herself to be the Divine King’s spouse. There was also the fact that Diocletian was 59 - 46 years older than Philomena. Diocletian was also married to Empress Prisca who was only 18.

Diocletian was not husband material, but Philomena’s parents were in a quandary. Perhaps they figured myriad lives could be saved if they offered Philomena to Diocletian. And there were other reasons, not just short-term, why it would have been politically advantageous for a Greek princess to marry the most powerful man in the world. Had Philomena “married” Diocletian, she would have been able to lobby for Greece’s best interests for decades.

But Philomena rejected the life of privilege offered her, and when she spurned Diocletian’s advances, the Emperor treated her to the most sadistic torture. First, Diocletian had her thrown in a dungeon and bound in the heaviest chains, in the hope she would consent to be his bride. When she did not, Diocletian had her tied to a pillar and whipped while the nastiest blasphemies filled the air. Afterwards, she was “one gaping wound” and Diocletian sent her back to prison to die. The sadistic emperor did not count on angels from heaven coming to soothe her wounds while she languished in a prison cell, but after the angels had visited Philomena, Diocletian was furious to see her more beautiful than ever. When she rejected him again, he gave orders that she should be thrown into a river with an anchor tied around her neck. Angels, sent by Our Lord, cut the rope of the anchor and Philomena was seen on the bank, more beautiful than ever. The tyrannical emperor was enraged and ordered she be pierced with arrows. The archers found their arrows refused to leave their bows. The emperor hinted she was a witch and commanded that the arrows be treated in a furnace, that their fiery tips might soar through the air against any spell she had intended, but the arrows turned around and pierced the same archers who had intended them for Philomena. Finally, Diocletian had the object of his obsession decapitated.

Philomena was martyred in the year 304. I beg you to consider that while she was not a powerful princess in this life, she certainly is in eternal life, and I ask you to entreat her intercession for you and your loved ones.