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| St. Irene of Tomar being martyred aleteia.org |
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
Many of the stories and accounts of the early saints
have facts intermingled with legend. During October, when we focus on Fatima, the Miracle of the Sun, and the Holy Rosary,
we might take a look at the story of a revered saint from Fatima’s neighboring
town, Tomar. Her name is St. Irene of
Tomar, and she was martyred in 653 A.D.
Legend says that Irene was born in a place called
Nabancia, which is known today as Tomar, located in Portugal. Irene was born
into an affluent and influential family.
Her parents, living during an era when young girls had to be protected, secured
a private tutor for Irene and sent her to a convent school. Their purpose was served well
for the only time Irene left the convent was to attend Mass or make a visit to the
church to pray.
Apparently, Irene was quite beautiful, and the few men
who actually got a chance to see her were always enamored by her beauty. There
was one such man in the area named Britald. He was a nobleman, and the first
time he saw Irene, he fell in love with her. He began to watch for her to leave
for church and then follow her.
The man became obsessed and finally approached Irene
and asked her to marry him. She made it clear to Britald that she had taken a
vow of celibacy and had given herself to God as a nun. The man was crushed and walked
away.
However, there was another man who had hidden designs
on Irene. It was her tutor, Remigio. He was a monk entrusted by Irene’s parents
not only to teach their daughter but to guard her also. As time went by,
Remigio could not contain himself any longer and shocked Irene by making
unreasonable and impure advances towards her. She turned him away as forcefully
as she could, but Remigio would not merely go away. Instead, he became furious,
quit as her tutor, and plotted revenge.
Soon after, people began asking Remigio why he was not
tutoring Irene. He started telling people that he had found out she was
pregnant and that there was no way he would have anything to do with her. He
sent a message to Irene, asking if he could meet with her for a few moments to
give her some material to study.
As the rumors of her pregnancy continued to spread, Irene
agreed to meet with Remigio. He managed to offer her a drink, and she accepted.
In it was a poison that was not meant to kill her but would, instead, cause her
abdomen to swell up. When people saw Irene with her swollen belly, they
believed Remigio’s lie. Word got back to Irene’s first rejected suitor, Britald.
He had not seen any other women and was absolutely livid that Irene had lied to
him and had been promiscuous. He was not about to let this behavior stand.
Britald hired a mercenary to kill Irene. Shortly after
Britald’s “arrangement” had been made, Irene was walking home from afternoon
prayer when the assassin struck. He snuck up from behind her, placed his big
arm across her face, and cut her throat. He dragged her lifeless body to the Tagus
River and threw it in. Folks, no longer seeing Irene either going to Mass or
praying in church, thought that she had left the city in shame. What else could
have possibly happened to her?
According to legend, Irene’s uncle, the abbot Celius,
had received a revelation from Jesus about the truth of Irene’s death and the
location of her body. The time frame for this is not precise, but her uncle gathered
a procession of people and made a journey to the place where he said her body
would be found. The water’s currents had
carried Irene’s body to the shores of Scalabis (which is known today as
Santarem, which means Saint Irene).
When the procession reached the site, the waters
receded, and the intact remains of Irene were found. It was also noted that she
was not pregnant and that she had been a victim of lies and slander. The monks
gave her a formal burial, and the story of St. Irene (Santa Iria) began to
spread.
Today, St. Irene of Tomar is honored as a saint and
martyr throughout Portugal and in the Catholic Church. She is the patron saint
of Tomar and Santarem, and her feast day is October 20.
copyright©Larry Peterson 2019
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