Valea Mănăstirii, Alba County, Romania, March 13, 2026
Photo: Basilica News Agency
The relics of St. Filotimia of Râmeț were uncovered at Râmeț Monastery in Alba County, Romania, yesterday.
The uncovering is the latest in a series of such events accompanying the Romanian Orthodox Church’s recent wave of canonizations, which has added more than 30 holy men and women to the calendar over the past two years. Earlier this month, the relics of St. Maria Brâncoveanu and two of her sons, the holy Martyrs Ștefan and Matei, were also uncovered.
His Eminence Archbishop Irineu of Alba Iulia presided over the ceremony. “Today, a new spiritual jewel enters the sacred treasury of Râmeț Monastery: the venerable relics of St. Filotimia,” he said, noting that they would be venerated alongside those of St. Ghelasie and her son St. Dometie the Merciful.
Photo: Basilica News Agency
After the uncovering, the relics were carried in procession to the monastery church. They will be permanently enshrined in the main church of Râmeț Monastery, beside those of her son St. Dometie the Merciful, who was himself canonized by the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2024.
Fr. Oliviu Botoi, cultural adviser of the Archdiocese of Alba Iulia, noted that the first part of St. Filotimia’s life was devoted to her family. She was the mother of 12 children, many of whom entered the service of the Church. She suffered the early deaths of several of her children and endured a serious illness from which she recovered miraculously. After being widowed, she drew closer to the spiritual life and devoted herself entirely to prayer and ascetic struggle at Râmeț Monastery, alongside her son Dometie and her daughter, Mother Eudoxia. She reposed in 1989.
The abbess of Râmeț Monastery, Mother Apolinaria, knew St. Filotimia personally. She described her as radiating goodness, gentleness, love, and mercy toward the monastic community and all who surrounded her. In her later years, when age prevented her from performing physical labors, she prayed continuously in her cell. The abbess also recalled that St. Dometie praised his mother in a 1959 letter, comparing her to a martyr.
St. Filotimia Manolache (1896–1989) was canonized under the title St. Filothimia of Râmeț, mother of St. Dometie the Merciful, with her feast day set on July 6.
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