St. Irene of Tomar lived in seventh-century Portugal. Her parents, to protect her, sent her to a convent school, then had a monk tutor her privately. The only time she went outside was to go to Mass or to go to a chapel to pray.
During one of these times, a nobleman named Britald saw her. He fell in love with Irene, began following her to church, and told her how he felt. Irene refused his proposal.
Britald became extremely depressed. Irene visited him and told him she had refused his proposal because she had taken a vow of chastity. Britald accepted this and asked that the love she had found in God would make her refuse other men. She agreed, and Britald’s condition improved.
Then, Irene’s beauty attracted another man. Her tutor began behaving inappropriately and made sexual advances towards her. Irene dismissed him.
The monk retaliated, though there are mixed accounts of how he did so. Some say he told people he refused to tutor Irene because she was pregnant. Some say he fueled these rumors by slipping her a potion that made her belly swell.
Britald heard these rumors and may have seen her swollen belly. He became angry, thinking that Irene had been with another man. He hired a mercenary to kill her, and this mercenary killed Irene when she left her house to pray.
Lessons From St. Irene of Tomar
Despite the turmoil Irene faced, she continued her routine of Mass and prayer. This routine gave her the courage and grace to stand firm in her faith and her vow of chastity, even when she was threatened. Consistent prayer can help us in our own times of trial, giving us the grace to carry our crosses and remain firm in our faith.
Additionally, St. Irene of Tomar is a great intercessor for all trauma survivors, especially those who have faced sexual trauma. May she intercede for the healing journeys of all trauma survivors.