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 dedicated 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 Philomena 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. In 2000 the first Confraternity of Saint Philomena pilgrimage to Carfin was held, this has become an annual 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.

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 become 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 ordered 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.

The Family of Saint Philomena

For those who do not know me – my name is Rosemary Campbell and I represent the Family of Saint Philomena in Scotland. Marie Burns and I, along with our families, ran the centre of the devotion from Glasgow; we have done this for the love of Saint Philomena on a purely voluntary basis. 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 of her.

I have been running the centre in Scotland since 2005 when Fr Braschi, Rector of the Sanctuary asked me to take over. Marie Burns ran the centre before me from 1999 when I joined her shortly afterwards in 2000 and we worked hard to build it up. Marie moved on to work more closely with the Sanctuary in Italy along with the centres in other English speaking countries. In 2008 Marie took some time away from these duties and her life progressed in other avenues. She did not return to work for the Scottish centre but since 2010 oversees the worldwide Archconfraternity made up of various centres in countries around the globe, she works closely with Fr Braschi to help deliver his message to these centres. In 1987 Michael Malley, who was the founder of the Scottish centre, helped establish it and 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. He made and hand painted the many banners we have and always organized the procession at Carfin Grotto through his deep love for Saint Philomena. He was extremely talented and is sadly missed by all of us, but we know that he is still helping us with our work.

Saint Philomena is a wonderful Saint. She has brought me closer to the love of our Blessed Mother and Jesus and through her intercession, my faith has deepened. I can't imagine living my life without her in it. There are many truly inspiration stories to be told of her intercession 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 celebration 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.