Irene of Portugal, Saint, Martyr

IRENE di PORTOGALLO, saint, martyr. – Of the seventh century, commemorated on 20 October in the Roman Martyrology, her life bears legendary features. A nun in a monastery near Thomar (Portugal), she is said to have been beheaded by Britaldo, lord of the place, who had been unable to induce her to sin. Her body, thrown into the Nabão, is said to have reached Scallabis by way of the Zezere, a Roman colony on the banks of the Tagus, which from then on supposedly took her name: Santarem (S. Irene). Her identification with St Irene the martyr, companion of Agape and Chionia, is without foundation.