Devotion to Saint Philomena in Scotland

Devotion to the Virgin Martyr and wonderworker Saint Philomena first came to Scotland in the late nineteenth century, spread mainly due to the fame of St John Vianney among Irish immigrants. Perhaps Scottish Catholics had a clearer insight into the life of Philomena due to the hatred for the true Church of Christ fostered by most of their Presbyterian compatriots and the penal laws and social exclusion they had to suffer.

At the time of the so-called reformation all devotion to local saints had been suppressed and their shrine destroyed. Saints from other lands became popular with Scottish Catholics and none more than Saint Philomena whose name became a very popular baptismal name for girls and following local tradition, for confirmation also. Two churches were dedicated to the Saint, one in Glasgow and another near Edinburgh, a junior school in Glasgow is also dedi-cated to her.

When the national Marian shrine was being erected in the 1920’s at Carfin near Motherwell, Saint Philomena found home there and a beautiful carrara marble statue was donated by a grateful devotee from Glasgow who subsequently donated a smaller one of the Cure of Ars. During the major feasts celebrated at Carfin a thirteen year old girl was dressed as the Saint and walked in the processions.

As with many other nations, devotion to Saint Philomena dwindled after the 1961 liturgical directive but never disappeared totally, kept alive by a handful of the faithful.

In 1987 a small centre was opened with the intention of promoting devotion to Saint Philo-mena and distributing her sacramentals and 1996 the first feast day celebrations in thirty-five years were held, although numbers were small the devotion was fervent.

1999 saw the creation of a new centre which promoted the Philomenian devotion and the creation of a committee which overseas this work to this day. In 2000 the first Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena pilgrimage to Carfin was held, this has become an an-nual event as has the pilgrimage to the Saint at Mugnano del Cardinale. The rather pale looking Scots pilgrims have become a familiar sight to the Mugnanesse!

During November 2001 a beautiful statue of Saint Philomena was erected at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Glasgow, an event which caused much rejoicing for the Scottish devotees of the Saint and the Rector of the Sanctuary who was present for the event. The statue was carried into the Church accompanied by the music of the bagpipes, an honour reserved for only the most distinguished of guests.

2005 Fr Lennon celebrated Mass at St Andrews Cathedral, Glasgow for the Archconfraternity and we announced the new scientific findings regarding Saint Philomena.

During October 2007 the same beautiful statue of Saint Philomena was again erected in the church of Saint Joseph in Helensburgh. Once again the statue was carried in to the church accompanied by the music of the bagpipes and the Rector of the Sanctuary was present for this event.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CARFIN GROTTO

The story of how a small mining village became the home of Scotland’s national Marian Shrine began in 1920 when a group from Carfin went out to Lourdes with their parish priest Monsignor Taylor. The priest was inspired by Lourdes and also by the story of a shrine at Oostacker in Belgium which had originally been built not as a result of any miracle, but as a symbol of an elderly priest's devotion. Years later a lame man claimed to be miraculously healed after a visit to Oostacker, and Monsignor Taylor reasoned that if Oostacker could be-come a holy site, then why not Carfin.

Carfin was a mining area with a sizeable population of Irish immigrants, many of whom worked in the mines. The strikes of the 1920’s meant they had a lot of time on their hands and many of them volunteered and set to work landscaping a plot of ground. A statue carved from Carrara marble of St Bernadette kneeling before Our Lady of Lourdes, was or-dered from Rome.

By 1923 the grotto was open, proving to be so popular that extension work began just a year later. Over the years, many small shrines and statues have been erected in honor of saints such as St Francis of Assisi, St Patrick, St Anthony, St Andrew and Saint Philomena.

The statue of Saint Philomena was donated by a gentleman from Govan along with a smaller statue of The Cure of Ars, St John Vianney, who had a great devotion to her. Saint Philomena stands to the right of the glass chapel where exposition of The Blessed Sacrament takes place on a daily basis during the open season.

The grotto is currently undergoing a fundraising drive to enable it to stay open. Many of the shrines are in need of repair and it would be a tragedy to Scotland to lose such a prized possession.

Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena, Scotland

Michael Malley established this centre in 1987 and helped build it into what it is today. None of this would have been possible without his previous work. Michael passed away on 2nd March 2005, at the age of 42 years, may he rest in peace. Through his deep love for saint Philomena he made by hand artistic painted stitched (with a Hail Mary in each stitch) many banners for Saint Philomena. We used these in the many procession that Michael organsied at Carfin Grotto through the years. Several of these banners have been donated in his memory to centres of the Archconfraternity worldwide: Australia, Aruba, Africa, USA as well as to the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena in Italy. We ask each centre to always remember Michael in their prayers as one of the great devotees of Saint Philomena. He was extremely talented and is sadly missed by all of us, but we know that he is still helping us with this work.
Marie Burns followed on from Michael’s work after visiting the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena in 1997 and again 1999. A new centre was formed on 10th January 2000 which was to become quite an important and eventful year for the Scottish centre.

Fr Peter Lennon is our Spiritual Director; he has a strong devotion to St John Vianney and welcomed Saint Philomena into his Church just as his patron saint did, now after coming to know this little saint so well he also has a true love for her.

Rosemary Campbell quickly joined Marie Burns, after having her prayers answered at the opening mass on the 10th January 2000 at The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Glasgow. Later in 2000 both Rosemary and Marie visited the Sanctuary and began organising the famous Scottish pilgrimage’s to the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena in Italy.

Also in this year Msgr. Giovanni Braschi visited the Scottish Centre and donated his personal First Class Relic of Saint Philomena. Through this time Rosemary and Marie were a great support to the Sanctuary in promoting Saint Philomena worldwide and working in the office of the Sanctuary. Between them and Michael Malley designed and realized the English Calendars and revived the Messenger of Saint Philomena. Both along with their young families ran the centre until 2011. Always working for the love of Saint Philomena on a purely voluntary basis.

2012 begins another era within this official Universal Archconfraternity Centre of Saint Philomena. Marie Burns had quickly moved to the position of Director of the association worldwide in 2001 and is now dedicating her time to the orgnaisation and management of the many worldwide Archconfraternity Centres of Saint Philomena. Rosemary Campbell moved on in that same to running the Scottish Branch of the Archconfraternity as well as overseeing the organisation of the devotion within the UK and Ireland.

2012 Margaret Thompson joins as a key Event Organiser for the devotion in Scotland, including pilgrimages and as a Support Worker for the Worldwide devotion. She joined the centre at the beginning, in 2000, as a devotee. She attended the Masses in the Immaculate Heart of Mary church and the Days of Prayer at Carfin Grotto. Also joining the pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena in Mugnano del Cardinale several times.

There are many truly inspiration stories to be told of the intercession of Saint Philomena from all over the world and for a wide variety of causes - from a mother asking for help for her children to fatal illness’s. She is the patroness of children and the youth.

Please join in our days of prayers and celebrations for Saint Philomena. They are intended to bring all devotees together to pray in union. Thank you for visiting our web page and may God Bless you. Our Lady Queen of Peace, pray for us! Saint Philomena, pray for us!