Saint Alena (also written Alène
Accessed 2012-05-10. or AlinaSaint Alina at Ebobas
Accessed 2012-05-10.) is a Christian saint who, if historical, was martyred around the year 640. She is sometimes referred to as Alena of Forest, or Alena of Brussels,Saint of the Day for 24 June at St Patrick's
Accessed 2012-05-10. having died in

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

which is now one of the nineteen municipalities of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Life of Saint Alena

The traditional account of Saint Alena's life, dating to the twelfth century,The Church of Saint-Denis
Accessed 2012-05-10. states that she was born in

Dilbeek Dilbeek () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Dilbeek proper, Groot-Bijgaarden, Itterbeek (with Sint-Anna-Pede), Schepdaal (with Sint-Gertrudis-Pe ...

, just outside Brussels, Belgium, to pagan parents, the nobleman Levold and his wife, Hildegaart.Saint Alina at Brewiarz
Accessed 2012-05-10.
Accessed 2012-05-11. Alena chose to be baptized without the knowledge of her parents. As a Christian, she had to attend

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

secretly. When her father discovered that she was worshipping as a Christian, he came to the conclusion that Christians had bewitched her into conversion. He sent guards to bring her home; she resisted, and during the fighting she lost one arm. She subsequently died in prison due to her injuries. Various (unspecified) miracles were claimed at the burial site of Alena's body, and one of Levold's subjects, Duke Omundus, had his sight restored by invoking Alena's prayers. An angel appeared and took the severed arm to the chapel where she worshipped. Alena's parents were shocked, but the miracles, and the witness given by her determined faith, led them to examine Christianity, and they themselves were converted.

Veneration of Saint Alena

The Bishop of Cambrai gave permission for Abbot Godeschalk of

Affligem Abbey Affligem Abbey ( nl, Abdij Affligem, french: Abbaye d'Affligem) is a Benedictine abbey in the municipality of Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium, to the north-west of Brussels. Dedicated in 1086, it was the most important monastery in the Du ...

to enshrine Alena's remains in the Priory of Forest, then a dependency of Affligem, as the relics of a saint on Pentecost Sunday, 19 May 1193. This was effectively a

canonisation Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

. The chapel with Alena's relics became a popular place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

. Her shrine became incorporated into the parish church of Forest as a chapel which held her

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

and

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...

. By around 1600, her jawbone and upper arm were preserved in the parish church, each in its own jewel-studded reliquary dating from the 15th century. The rest of the bones, with the exception of the collarbones, were preserved in the abbey church in a Baroque reliquary (1644) commissioned by

Françoise de Bette Françoise Bette (1593–1666) was, from 1637 to 1666, the 26th abbess of Forest Abbey. She was born in Lede, in the county of Flanders, the daughter of Adrian Bette, knight, and Agnes de Merode de Rummen. Her cousin, Guillaume de Bette, 1st Mar ...

, abbess 1637–1666. When the abbey was suppressed in 1796 the last abbess,

Juana Francisca de Rueda de Conteras Juana is a Spanish female first name. It is the feminine form of Juan (English John), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Janet, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. Juanita is a common variant. The name Juana may refer to: People * Juana I (1 ...

(1785–1818), removed this reliquary to a monastery near

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

. It was returned to Forest only in 1812. The collarbones are still kept in a reliquary in the church of St Ambrosius in

. Saint Alena is depicted in art as a

princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subs ...

with one arm torn off. She might also be portrayed healing a blind man, or with an angel helping her. She is venerated in Brussels, and is invoked for eye troubles and toothache. Her feast day is given as 17 June by the Polish Breviary but other Polish-language sources also recognise 16 June, 28 July and 16 December; with 16 June and 16 December often being kept as the

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, among other parts of Christendom. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively that of a ...

in Poland. Her feast is cited as 19 June in Italy, and 24 June by English-language sources. It is kept locally on 16 June in the

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

region of Belgium. The

Antiochian Orthodox The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch ( el, Ελληνορθόδοξο Πατριαρχείο Αντιοχείας), also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church and legally as the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East ( ar ...

Diocese of North America commemorates her on 18 June. She does not appear in the index of the 2004 edition of the

Roman Martyrology The ''Roman Martyrology'' ( la, Martyrologium Romanum) is the official martyrology of the Catholic Church. Its use is obligatory in matters regarding the Roman Rite liturgy, but dioceses, countries and religious institutes may add duly approved ...

.''Martyrologium Romanum'', 2004, Vatican Press (Typis Vaticanis), pp. 697-844.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alena 7th-century births 640 deaths 7th-century Christian saints Belgian Roman Catholic saints Christian female saints of the Middle Ages People from Dilbeek