Saint Irene of Tomar () (c.635 – c.653) was a Christian who was
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
ed for her faith in
Visigoth
The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied barbarian military group united under the comman ...
ic Portugal. Her parents, wishing to protect her, sent her to a convent school and a private tutor. The only times she left her house was to attend
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
or pray at the sanctuary of
Saint Peter
Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...
. The legend of her life is possibly little more than that.
[''Encyclopedia of Catholic Saints'', Vol. 10, (1966) Chilton Books, pp. 99–10]
/ref>
Legend
Legend says that Irene was born in Nabância, present-day Tomar
Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portugal, Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatejo Portuguese Provinces of Portugal, province, and in Santarém District, Santarém district. The to ...
, Portugal. She was born into an influential family, and her parents, wishing to protect her, sent her to a convent school and a private tutor
Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.
A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...
. The only times she left her house was to attend Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
or pray at the sanctuary of Saint Peter. A young nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
named Britald saw her once and fell in love with her. Every time she left to go to church, he would follow her. Eventually he came forward with his proposal to court her; however, Irene made it clear that she would never marry him. When Britald became depressed, Irene hastened to make it clear to him that the reason for her celibacy was that she had given herself to God as a nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...
.mercenary soldier
A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather th ...
to kill her; as Irene was returning home from visiting an elderly disabled
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...
man, the assassin approached from behind and killed her with a single stroke of his sword
A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
.
Veneration
Her body was thrown into the Nabão River
The Nabão () is a river in Portugal. It rises in Ansião and passes through the city of Tomar
Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portugal, Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatej ...
, that flows into the Tagus
The Tagus ( ; ; ) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales between Cuenca and Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally westward, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Lisbon.
Name
T ...
. Later, it was recovered uncorrupted from this river by Benedictines
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
near the town of Scalabis. Legend says that her uncle abbot Celius had received from Christ a revelation about the true story of her niece and the location of her body. The monks gave her a proper burial, and spread her cultus. Eventually, so great was the reverence paid to the virgin saint, that the name of the town of Scalabis
Scallabis (also ''Scallabi Castrum'', ''Præsidium Iulium'', ''Scallabis Praesidium Iulium'' or ''Colonia Scallabis Iulia'') was the Roman name of Santarém, Portugal.
History
The first documented human occupation dates from the 8th century BC. ...
was changed to Santarém ("Saint Irene").patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of Tomar and namesake of Santarém.
Her feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
is celebrated on 20 October.
See also
* "St. Irene" article in Catalan Wikipedia
* Saint Irene of Tomar, patron saint archive
References
Bibliography
* Oliveira, Miguel de, ''Santa Iria e Santarém. Lenda e História. Estudos hagiográficos'', Lisboa, União Gráfica, 1964
* Costa, Avelino de Jesus, ''Santa Iria e Santarém, revisão de um problema hagiográfico e toponímico'', Coimbra, FLUC, 1972
External links
*
Sant' Irene del Portogallo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irene of Tomar
635 births
653 deaths
People from Tomar
7th-century Christian saints
Portuguese Roman Catholic saints
Christian female saints of the Middle Ages
7th-century women
Women of medieval Portugal
7th-century people from the Visigothic Kingdom
Visigothic women
Legendary Portuguese people
Virgin martyrs