Saint Alena

This proposal was indeed of a nature to astonish Levolde: a secret curiosity determined him to accept, and he headed toward Forest, where he was shown all the respect due to his rank. The house inhabited by the fervent neophyte, which was later transformed into a church by Saint Amand, cont saint Amand Spiritual advisor to Gertrude. ained a small chapel in which a priest, who served God with great piety, sometimes celebrated the sacrifice of the Mass. It was there that the converted family gathered, along with a few faithful from the surrounding area, to attend prayer, the teachings of the faith, and the participation in the Sacraments, thus renewing, in the forests of Belgium, the touching scenes that the Church had offered in the catacombs of Rome or in the deserts of the Thebaid.

The priest therefore celebrated the divine sacrifice at the break of dawn, in the presence of Levolde, who attentively observed what was happening before his eyes and listened to all the words spoken by the assembly. How many ardent vows and fervent prayers rose to heaven for his conversion! But the hour of grace had not yet arrived. Stubbornly attached to his idols, he despised the law of Jesus Christ in his heart, and it was with these sentiments that he returned to his castle. There, he recounted to his wife and his daughter Alène everything that had happened to him, and, blaspheming the God of the Christians, he swore that his own were greater and more powerful.

How admirable are the ways of God, and how well He knows how to arrive at the sanctification of His elect by all sorts of means! These words, which should have, it seems, confirmed two idolatrous souls in error, became the principle of the conversion of Alène who, through the shedding of her blood, would later obtain that of her parents themselves. From that moment, in fact, grace began to act upon this innocent young girl who, without being able to explain what was happening in her heart, felt a keen desire to see the Christian of whom her father had spoken to her, and from whom he had received hospitality. Something urged her to seek to know this law of the Christians that he despised and held in horror. For this, it was necessary to use cunning and act with the deepest secrecy, for on one hand, Alène feared the anger of Levolde, who would not fail to oppose her design, and on the other, she feared that the castle guards might see her. Forgetting, therefore, the timidity natural to her sex and the dangers of a nocturnal flight, she set out alone, through thickets and woods, and arrived at Forest without having encountered anyone on her journey. It was there that grace awaited her, and it triumphed easily in a simple and upright heart where truth found no obstacles. With what ardor Alène prayed in that modest and solitary oratory, where God began to communicate Himself to her! What pious desires she formed for the salvation of her father and mother! What love of God was kindled in her heart when she considered the inestimable grace He had granted her!

It was during this time that Saint Amand saint Amand Spiritual advisor to Gertrude. , as seen in very ancient hagiographies, instructed the pious neophyte in the religion and had the consolation of baptizing her: it did not seem possible that she could continue to come to this place for long without her father becoming aware of it.

Indeed, Levolde, informed of the frequent visits his daughter paid to the Christian family of Forest, abandoned himself to all the brutality of his character; and his fanatical attachment to idolatry making him even more furious, he immediately gave his men-at-arms the most severe orders. What were these orders? In what manner were they executed? What dark incidents marked the tragic event that took place then? One does not find in the authors an account that offers enough guarantees of authenticity to enter into this detail. Let us limit ourselves to saying that Alena died, either in the struggle against the people who wanted to stop her, or at the hands of the bloodthirsty ministers of an irritated father.

Pure blood, shed for the cause of Jesus Christ, is never sterile, and God often delights in showing through tangible testimonies how pleasing to Him is this sacrifice of life made by His faithful servants: this was soon recognized at Forest, where the body of the young virgin had been buried. The numerous healings that took place there caused a great stir in the neighboring regions: thus, the modest sanctuary did not take long to be frequented by all sorts of people, who came to claim the help of God at the tomb of the new Martyr.

It is then, it is said, that a lord of the land, named Osmonde, an illustrious and wealthy man, but blind and impotent, had himself brought to Levolde, and spoke to him in these terms: "Since the sick flock to the tomb of Alène and through her merits they find healing there, I will go there myself and I hope to recover my sight." "Until now," replied Levolde, "I have regarded as fables all that has been reported to me, but if you return healed, I will abandon my gods and embrace the law of the Christians." Osmonde, satisfied with this promise, had himself led to the chapel where the body of Alène was buried, prayed to the Lord to hear him through the merits of the young virgin, and immediately recovered his sight. Transported with joy, he returned to Levolde, who at that very instant abjured the worship of his idols and ran, his eyes bathed in tears, to the tomb of his daughter, publicly confessing that he himself was the author of her death. Immediately he had himself instructed in the truths of the Gospel, received Baptism, changed his name to that of Harold, and h ad the Harold Father of Saint Alena, lord of Dilbeek, converted after the martyrdom of his daughter. consolation of seeing his wife share his faith and his happiness. Both began to lead a new life and practiced Christian virtues with fervor until the day of their death. They were buried at Dielbeck in the church of Saint Ambrose, which they had built themselves.

## CULT AND RELICS.

The chapel of Saint Alena is very famous for the benefits and miraculous healings that God has granted there at all times. These multiplied wonders have inspired in the inhabitants of the region a great devotion to their patron ess. Nicholas, of the family of Ch Nicolas, de la famille de Chièvres Bishop of Cambrai in 1146. ièvres, who ascended the see of Cambrai in 1146, intended to consecrate this church because of the extraordinary influx of people; but, says a contemporary historian, having learned that it had been consecrated by Saint Amand in very remote times, he refrained from doing so, out of respect for the holy apostle of Braba nt. Gui Bishop of Cambrai who ordered the elevation of the relics in 1193.

In 1193, Guy, also bishop of Cambra i, ordere Godescale Abbot of Afflighem. d Godesca le, abbot Affighiem Abbey whose abbot was tasked with the elevation of the relics. of Affligem, to go to Forest to elevate the relic reliques de la Sainte Relics of the saint preserved at Forêt. s of the Saint and to expose them to public veneration: numerous miracles were again performed on this occasion. One cites especially the healing of a young person from Enghien who had lost an eye, and who had suffered so much from the other for seven years that she could barely direct her walk with certainty. She perfectly recovered her sight and returned to her parents without the slightest trace of her infirmity. On January 3, 1523, the shrine that enclosed these relics was opened and visited by order of Robert de Croy, bishop of Cambrai, by Adrien, bishop in partibus and vice-bishop of the same diocese. The body was found intact and perfectly recognized. In 1660, Mgr Mathias Bave, archbishop of Mechelen, in whose diocese this church was then located, likewise had it visited by a dean of Brussels, a licentiate in theology, with all the ordinary procedures. This shrin e was, châsse Relics of the saint preserved at Forêt. in 1644, replaced by another in silver, belonging to the monastery.

During the revolution of 1793, at the moment when the republican troops were entering Belgium, the nuns of Forest emigrated to Germany with the body of their holy patroness. They brought it back after the days of the Terror, and the ecclesiastical authority solemnly recognized it in 1823.

One can still see today the small chapel erected over the tomb of Saint Alena; it was incorporated into the church built in 1482. This tomb is covered by a black marble stone, placed upon arches of the same material.

The patronal feast is celebrated on the Sunday before Saint John's Day; on that day, one sees a multitude of inhabitants from Brussels and neighboring places flocking to Forest to venerate the relics of their patroness and implore her protection from God.

Vies des Saints de Cambrai et d'Arras, by Abbé Destembes; — Cf. Act. Sanct., t. IV jun.