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{{c|{To he  said  before  study  or  class) }}

MERCIFUL God,  grant  that  I  may  eagerly desire, carefully  search  out,  truthfully  acknowledge,  and  ever  perfectly  fulfil  all  things  which  are pleasing to  Thee,  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  Thy  name. Amen.

Indulgence of 300  days,  each  time. — Leo  XIII, June 21,  1879.

OR close  on  a  hundred  years  the  name  of  St.  Philomena  has  been  accorded  in  the  Church  a  veneration which, growing  intensified  by  the  number  of  miracles vouchsafed through  her  intercession,  has  spread  over  the whole world. Previous to  the  discovery  of  her  tomb  and relics at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  her  name had found  no  place  in  sacred  story. There is  a  pious tradition that  she  was  a  child-martyr  and  a  contemporary of St.  Sebastian,  who  suffered  in  the  reign  of  the  Roman Emperor Diocletian  about  the  year  of  Our  Lord  286.

The Catacomb  of  St.  Priscilla,  outside  the  walls  of  Rome, lies beneath  the  Via  Salaria  Nova. Here, in  the  pontificate of  Pius  VII,  a  remarkable  slab  attracted  the  custodians of  the  cemetery,  who  were  then  prosecuting  investigations  there,  and  on  the  25th  of  May,  1802,  the  tomb was formally  examined. On the  tiles  that  enclosed  it, the following  inscription  was  read:    "Philomeiia  Pax Tecum." The devices  which  were  interwoven  with  these simple words  —  an  anchor,  an  arrow,  and  a  palm  —  determined the  spot  as  the  last  resting  place  of  a  martyr. The tomb was  opened  by  Monsignor  Ludovici,  who  disclosed to the  gaze  of  his  assistants  and  bystanders  the  precious