Thank you, St. Philomena!

This a little embarrassing for this author but I made a promise to God and St. Philomena that I'd do this if the Saint helped me with a certain health issue.  Well, she did... so here we are today - I'm publicly testifying to St. Philomena's powerful intercession.

To make a long story short, several months ago I noticed a dime-sized reddish rash on my lower right leg.  In the weeks that followed it grew bigger and bigger, and it started to burn and itch.   I had no idea what it was but figured it was some sort of dermatitis.

Reluctant to visit a doctor, I tried various over-the-counter medicated creams (e.g. hydrocortisone) and moisturizing lotions for several weeks but nothing helped.  Instead, the rash grew, got darker, and it was still itching badly; the skin on the rash also turned crusty.

A bottle of blessed oil from the Shrine

of St. Philomena in Mugnano, Italy.

In frustration I decided to turn to Heaven for help and in my heart I felt strongly inspired to do a novena to the Virgin-Martyr.  I prayed a 9-day cycle of the same prayer, while also applying blessed oil a friend brought back for me from the Saint’s Sanctuary in Mugnano, Italy.  At the end of the novena there was no noticeable change to my leg, but rather than giving up, I decided to start a second novena.  When that was all over, I noticed a slight improvement but the rash was still present.

Hopeful, I started a third novena with the daily application of the blessed oil and sometimes using a little hydrocortisone when the itch was bad.  This time around the rash began quickly clearing up until it eventually went away on its own after the prayers finished - see the photos below.

I have to reiterate that prior to praying the novenas, none of the treatments I tried for a couple of months worked.  So, thank you very much to our dear St. Philomena.  I firmly believe she helped me once again... and I am grateful.

For those in need of help, I encourage you to turn to this little Saint with trust.  The prayer I used can be accessed by clicking here; the blessed oil and other St. Philomena devotional items can be ordered from here.

May Jesus bless us all through the intercession of his glorious spouse - St. Philomena, Powerful with God!