Church of Saint Irene (Chiesa di Sant'Irene)

St. Irene's kinsman who had been delivered from death fell at her feet and cried so much that he washed her feet with his tears. She advised him to keep the statutes of the Lord in order not to be found in such temptations again, because such things happen to us because of our sins.

Lecce, with a population of 95,000, is the largest city in the south of Puglia.

Countless miracles occur at her relics, and many prayers for St. Irene's intercessions are continually answered. On such series of miracles is for mothers who are unable to conceive: she is especially known and loved as a powerful intercessor for those trying to conceive a child.

After Hagia Eirene built by Constantine burned down, it was rebuilt by Justinian in the 6th century and extensively rebuilt by the Iconoclast emperor Constantine V in the 8th century, when its apse was decorated by a simple mosaic cross.