On May 25, 1802, excavators in the ancient Catacomb of St. Priscilla in Rome came upon a well-preserved shelf tomb sealed with terr-cotta slabs in the manner usually reserved for nobility or great martyrs. The tomb was marked with three tiles, inscribed with the following confusing words: LUMENA / PAXTE / CUMFI. However, if one places the first tile last and separates the words properly, the very intelligible sentence emerges: Pax tecum, Filumena,which is "Peace be with you, Philomena." Also inscribed on the tiles were symbols: a lily, arrows, an anchor and a lance, which would appear to indicate virginity and martyrdom. Inside the coffin there were discovered the remains of a girl of about twelve or thirteen years of age, along with a vial or ampulla of her dried blood. Transferred to the Treasury of the Rare Collections of Christian Antiquity in the Vatican, the remains were soon forgotten by the public, especially since no record existed of a virgin martyr named Philomena. But in 1805, a Neapolitan priest, Don Francesco di Lucia, traveling to Rome with his newly appointed bishop, requested and, after a brief delay, received the relics of this martyr "Philomena" to enshrine in his village church at Mugnano, near Naples. Immediately upon the official donation of St. Philomena's sacred remains, signal favors began to be granted through her intercession and unusual events to occur. The favors, graces and even miracles started to increase, even before her enshrinement at Mugnano, and they steadily grew in number thereafter - such that this virgin martyr soon earned the title, "Philomena, Powerful with God". In 1837, only 35 years after her exhumation, Pope Gregory XVI elevated this "Wonder-Worker of the Nineteenth Century" to sainthood. In an act unprecedented in the history of Catholicism, she became the only person recognized by the Church as a Saint solely on the basis of her powerful intercession, since nothing historical was known of her except her name and the evidence of her martyrdom. St. Philomena has been successfully invoked by her supplicants in every sort of needed, such that she has become another patron of "hopeless" and "impossible" cases, like St. Jude or St. Rita, but she is known to be especially powerful in cases involving conversion of sinners, return to the Sacraments, expectant mothers, destitute mothers, problems with children, unhappiness in the home, sterility, priests and their work, help for the sick, the missions, real estate, money problems, food for the poor and mental illness. But truly, as her devotees discovered, no case, of whatever matter, is too trivial or too unimportant to concern her.
A relic is the remains of a saint. It may be an actual body part or an object used by the saint during life.
No, some basilicas may have the remains of a saint present but it is not a requirement to be named as a basilica.
The remains (skeleton) of Saint Bede are in the Durham Anglican Cathedral.
Peter's tomb was found under Saint Peter's Basilica.
She stayed in a cave for several centuries where her body remains remain there.
No, the Catholic Church has not desanctified Saint Patrick. He remains a revered saint in the Catholic tradition, known for his missionary work and contributions to the spread of Christianity in Ireland.
There are a number of saints named Victoria. Please specify one of them.
Michael the Archangel is from Heaven. It was there that he was created by God and there tha he remains unless on a mission.
After she was martyred, her body was placed in a tomb in Catania, Sicily, where it remains today.
The tomb of St. Mark is said to be in the Basilica of Saint Mark in Venice, Italy.
Saint Peter's is the "headquarters" church of Catholicism. It contains the earthly remains of Saint Peter and many other popes. It also has many fine works or art. Saint Peter's marks the place were Saint Peter is said to have been martyred.
Saint Gregory the Great is buried in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy. His remains are located in a sarcophagus below the main altar of the Chapel of the Madonna of the Column.