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Saint Philomena and Pauline Jaricot
Paolina's illness is considered incurable, but she wants to go to Mugnano, in Italy, even though the journey is difficult, even crazy, given the seriousness of her condition. Paolina suffers from a serious heart problem, which manifests itself with palpitations; she cannot eat and must be very careful not to choke. She has a moment of respite at the end of a novena to Saint Philomena and, although she is gravely ill, she plans to go to Mugnano to visit the tomb of Saint Philomena, passing through Paray-le-Monial and Rome to receive the Pope's blessing.
A mysterious attraction pushed Paolina towards the tomb of Philomena, considered a martyr, but how to express this desire and above all how to get there from Lyon, since she was so ill that she could no longer bear the slightest jolt?
In Rome she is welcomed at Trinità dei Monti by her friends, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Given her extreme weakness, Gregory XVI honors her with a visit. Seeing Paolina in agony in Rome, Pope Gregory XVI commends himself to her prayers "as soon as she has reached heaven." Paolina replies: "Yes, Holy Father, I promise you. But if on my return from Mugnano I should come to the Vatican, would Your Holiness deign to proceed without delay to the definitive examination of the cause of Saint Philomena?” And the Pope replied: "Yes, yes, yes, my daughter, because then there would be a first-class miracle"! The Pope promised everything, certain he would not have to fulfill it: he then said in Italian to the mother superior, surely belonging to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Trinità dei Monti, friends of Paolina: "She seems to have come out of the tomb. She will not return" (Catherine Masson, Pauline Jaricot, op. cit., p. 314).
Pauline Jaricot arrives in Mugnano on August 8, 1835, two days before the feast of Saint Philomena. Despite being in the grip of atrocious suffering, she is joyfully welcomed as the founder of the Propagation of the Faith and the Living Rosary.
Paolina prayed for three days sitting on a chair in front of the Body of Saint Philomena.
On her return from Mugnano to Rome, Paolina presents herself at the Vatican. The Pope cannot believe his eyes. He asks Paolina to walk back and forth, thanking God for having worked wonders for her. "Paolina then asks the Pope to grant her wish and to erect a chapel to Saint Philomena. «Yes, my daughter – he replied – we will try to expedite the study of her cause» and he authorized her cult on January 13, 1837” (Catherine Masson, Pauline Jaricot, op. cit., p. 316).
Gregory XVI keeps Paolina in Rome for almost a year so that the miracle in her favor could be ascertained. During her stay in Rome, Paolina had several meetings with Gregory XVI, almost always attended by Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini (former nuncio in Paris, made cardinal on September 30, 1831 and Secretary of State in 1838, and who obtained from Pope Gregory XVI the solemn approval of the Living Rosary), during which they often spoke of the trials the Church was facing and the dangers in France.
Paolina took advantage of her stay to visit the city of Rome and the Vatican, but also to write texts, in particular her autobiography. It is during this period that the Living Rosary is affiliated with the Dominican Order (Catherine Masson, Pauline Jaricot, op. cit., p. 317).
Leaving Rome on May 25, 1836 for Florence and Bologna, passing through Loreto, Paolina promises herself to return.
Her return to Lyon was hailed as a miracle and she resumed her work. “Paolina, who is 37 years old, has recovered her health «with her intelligent face, imbued with gentleness, her large eyes spiritualized by the flame of ecstatic effusions» , writes David Lathoud, but also with « her cap, the black cloak of her short pilgrim's coat, the euchologion in her hand, one could easily take her for a nun»” (Catherine Masson, Pauline Jaricot, op. cit., p. 317).
In the house of Lorette, Paolina entrusts Abbot Rousselon with the task of having a chapel erected to Saint Philomena, as a sign of gratitude for her healing at the tomb of the saint. This was soon erected near the ascent of Saint-Barthélemy: a small chapel with about twenty seats, built by the architect Antoine Chenavard (1787-1883) and which reproduces in miniature the church of Mugnano. It was inaugurated in November 1839. Pilgrims can go there at any time to pray without passing through the house or the fenced area of the property.
As soon as she returned in 1836, Paolina went to Ars, about forty kilometers from Lyon, to bring a relic of Philomena: fragments of the humerus. Jean-Marie Vianney observes with admiration Paolina's restored health. "Her heart overflows with gratitude to God for this miracle, but she shows no astonishment, because she knows that everything is a wonder that comes from God. They remain silent for a while. Two years have passed since their last meeting. Paolina is full of joy, after having waited so long for this moment of happiness” (Jean Barbier, Le curé d’Ars et Pauline Jaricot, Lyon, Ed. & Imprimeries du Sud-Est, 1952, p. 90-91).
The curate receives "the remains of the Greek Virgin with inexpressible joy. He laughs and cries and tells Paolina that he will display the relics in his church” (Jean Barbier, Le curé d’Ars et Pauline Jaricot, op. cit., p. 92).
This virgin is often presented as a "Greek princess" who "came to Rome, was loved by Diocletian for her beauty, but promised to Jesus Christ with a vow of virginity, refused and paid for her insubordination with a terrible death (Jean Barbier, Le Curé d’Ars et Pauline Jaricot, op. cit., p. 76).
In Mugnano, Saint Philomena was known above all for her miracles and her death for the faith.
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