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Historical background
The church was built between 1580 and 1600 in honor of Our Lady of Graces. Her statue is located above the main altar and dates back to around 1750; the faces of the Madonna and the Child Jesus have never been restored. The ceiling of the church depicts the story of the Madonna, restored in 1717 and then again in 1995.
The Sanctuary of Saint Philomena, virgin, martyr, and miracle worker, followed in 1805 the translation of her sacred relics. At first, the Sanctuary became a place of pilgrimage. The devotees of the Saint flocked to this sanctuary to pray before her relics. Wonders and miracles became a daily occurrence! Saints and blessed, kings and queens, princes and paupers came to invoke the great miracle worker. The most illustrious pilgrim of Saint Philomena was Blessed Pius IX, who celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at her Altar on November 7, 1849. The Venerable Pauline Jaricot, founder of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, came on pilgrimage in 1835 and was healed from a deadly illness while at the Sanctuary.
A continuous restoration program has involved the Sanctuary over time: the church has been redecorated and a comfortable pilgrimage center has also been created for the spiritual life of the Sanctuary. It is now able to provide accommodation for devotees who wish to spend some time at the feet of Saint Philomena.
The construction of the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena or Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie began in 1617 and was completed around 1630 thanks to funds raised from the cutting of the Vallicelle woods.
The church was built in the shape of a Latin cross with a single nave, an elegant dome in Renaissance style, and an altar adorned with precious and rare marbles. On the eastern side there was a 50-meter-high bell tower, which at the top had a dome with a bronze ball surmounted by a flag and a cross. On May 30, 1673, the tower was struck by lightning and collapsed, damaging the church. It was faithfully rebuilt with the support of the population. In the mid-eighteenth century, two bell towers were added. The façade is covered with yellow stucco and flanked by two towers: one for the clock, the other for the bell tower. The architecture is neoclassical with Ionic and Corinthian capitals.
At the beginning of the 1800s, the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie became the Sanctuary of Saint Philomena. The body of the Saint, discovered in Rome on May 25, 1802, was brought to Mugnano by the priest Don Francesco De Lucia on August 10, 1805. Don Francesco De Lucia was the first rector of the Sanctuary, who founded and spread the devotion to Saint Philomena in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and overseas as far as the Americas.
Great personalities have visited the sanctuary with rich gifts: Cardinal Ruffo-Cilla of Naples, Leo XII, Pope Gregory XVI, Pius IX who went on pilgrimage accompanied by King Ferdinand II on November 7, 1849, Pauline Jaricott (founder of the Pontifical Mission Societies) miraculously healed by Saint Philomena in Mugnano on August 10, 1835, the Holy Curé of Ars, Maria Cristina of Savoy, wife of Ferdinand II of Bourbon, Leo XIII.
Among the popes devoted to and promoters of the cult of St. Philomena were Leo XII and Leo XVI after the miracle of Pauline Jaricott, which took place in front of the altar of St. Philomena on August 10, 1835, making the cult of the Saint official throughout the church; Leo XIII, promoter of the Universal Archconfraternity of Saint Philomena, and Saint Pius X, a great devotee who enriched the Sanctuary with valuable gifts.
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