Saint Alena

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Alena
Saint & Martyr
Born	6th Century
Died	c. 640
Canonized	pre-congregation
Major shrine	Vorst
Feast	24 June
Saints Portal

Saint Alena (died c. 640) is a Christian saint. Born near Brussels, Belgium, she was baptized without the knowledge of her pagan parents. She had to secretly attend mass and one night her father told his guards to follow her. Her father came to the conclusion that Christians had bewitched her into conversion. When her father's guards tried to arrest her she resisted, and during the fighting she lost her arm. Her severed arm was taken by an angel and placed before the altar in the chapel she attended. After these events her mother and father converted to Christianity. In traditional art she is seen with one arm severed, healing a blind man, or with an angel helping her. The chapel in Vorst holds her relics and is a popular pilgrimage site, and she is the patron saint of eye trouble and toothaches.