Name: Irene
Sex: M
Race: Spanish
Occupation: Friar
Affiliations:
Background
Not much is known about Padre Irene. It is not revealed when or why he decided to become a priest. He is usually seen in Manila, advising Capitan General and visiting Capitan Tiago.
Story
Chapter 1: Padre Irene is first introduced while riding on steamship Tabo together with other priests. He is quiet when Tabo gets stuck in the mud, while the group argues over how to prevent it from happening again.
Chapter 2: Padre Irene is described as being Capitan Tiago’s advisor. Basilio mentions Padre Irene to Isagani and Capitan Basilio, complaining that he suggested to Capitan Tiago to send Basilio to San Diego so that Capitan Tiago could smoke opium. Isagani explains that they gave Padre Irene two chestnut horses to get him to convince Capitan General to approve the petition for the Academy for Spanish.
Chapter 11: Padre Irene is present at Capitan General’s house in Los Banos, together with other guests. He is seen playing tresillo in the sala with Capitan General, Padre Camorra and Padre Sibyla. Padre Irene is purposely losing in order to get on the good side of Capitan General.
When Padre Camorra quits the game, he calls Padre Irene an idiot for his bad playing. Padre Irene makes excuses but hides his smile. They invite Simoun to play and Padre Irene tells him to use diamonds instead of tokens. In return, Simoun asks Padre Irene to bet acts of charity, prayers and virtues.
Simoun asks Capitan General to bet a deportation order and a summary execution. Padre Irene asks what Simoun plans to do with those and Simoun answers that he will use them to clean the country. Simoun tells them about how he was robbed by tulisanes at gunpoint but Padre Irene calls him ungrateful because at least he was allowed to keep his jewels. Simoun calls the tulisanes “the most honest men in the country” and asks Padre Irene if he would have let Simoun keep his jewels.
Padre Irene later jokes that Simoun is one of the tulisanes but Simoun just agrees with him. When the petition for the Academy for Spanish is brought up, it is mentioned that Padre Irene supports it. The secretary says that the youths in charge of it (Isagani, Basilio and Macaraig) have been accused of radicalism and Padre Irene defends Macaraig, calling him “charming and rich”. However, he says he knows nothing about Basilio other than that his father was involved in a mutiny against the guardia civil.
Chapter 14: The students talk about Padre Irene while discussing the petition for the Academy for Spanish. Macaraig explains that he spoke to Padre Irene, who said that everyone except for him had voted against the Petition. It is said that Padre Irene proposed that the decision pass to the Superior Commission of Primary Instruction, and suggested reviving the Commission, with Don Custodio as chairman. Macaraig tells the students that Padre Irene advised influencing Don Custodio since he has a “liberal bent”.
Later, when trying to decide how to influence Don Custodio, Isagani says he doesn’t want to influence Pepay since they already did the same with Padre Irene.
Chapter 15: It is revealed that Padre Irene lied about the number of people who supported the petition in Los Banos. Padre Fernandez, a countess, a trader and a high official actually wanted the petition approved.
Chapter 16: Padre Irene attends a dinner at the top floor of Chinaman Quiroga’s bazaar. When Padre Camorra and Ben Zayb mention the mummified human head in the Quiapo Fair, Padre Irene just smiles. Later, he goes to see it with Don Custodio, Padre Salvi, Padre Camorra, Ben Zayb, Juanito Pelaez and Simoun.
Chapter 17: While at the Quiapo Fair the group sees a store selling sculptures of various races and processions. Everyone comments that the Chinese statue looks like Padre Irene.
Chapter 18: Padre Irene goes to Mr. Leeds’ exhibit with the group and watches the show. After Padre Salvi passes out because the Sphinx called him a murderer, Padre Irene just says it’s because he ate birds’ nest soup.
Chapter 21: It is revealed that before opening night of the French play, Padre Irene was one of the friars who protested against the performance. Tadeo later sees him outside the theater, disguised in a false mustache.
Chapter 22: During the performance, the character “Serpolette” (played by Lily) smiles at a man who is clapping for her. Tadeo realizes that the man is Padre Irene in disguise, and Sandoval comments that he saw Padre Irene talking to the actresses.
It is noted that Padre Irene was sent by Padre Salvi as a spy, and he wanted to examine the actresses so he met with them backstage. Lily saw him and was happy to greet him.
During the intermission, Macaraig returns to the box after speaking with Padre Irene. He says that Padre Irene congratulated him and told him that one of the religious corporations will be in charge of the Academy for Spanish in case the Dominicans won’t incorporate it into the University. Macaraig tells the students that Padre Irene advised them to celebrate with a banquet to thank the people who intervened. The students decide to do that, but in a bitter way, so they leave before the second act of the play starts.
Chapter 23: Basilio wonders who has been giving Capitan Tiago opium, since he and Padre Irene are Capitan Tiago’s only visitors. Padre Irene once told Basilio to be stricter with his regimen to save Capitan Tiago, and even promised to get Basilio assigned to a good province and help him become a professor.
Basilio remembers a time when Capitan Tiago thought he went blind and thought Basilio was Capitan Irene, so he started calling him his savior.
When Basilio reveals to Simoun that Maria Clara died, he says he found out when Padre Irene gave him a letter from Padre Salvi.
Chapter 25: The students make fun of Padre Irene during their dinner, even though they took his suggestion of celebrating the results of the petition. They wonder whether they should dedicate the lumpia to Padre Irene but one student says Padre Irene does not eat pork unless he moves his nose away. The students shout “Down with Padre Irene’s nose!”
Chapter 28: Because of the incident, there are rumors that Capitan General held a meeting with Provincials, Padre Sibyla and Padre Irene, who was there to represent Padre Salvi.
Padre Irene had visited Capitan Tiago, and later tells stories to him that Capitan General was advised to encourage terror to teach the subversives a lesson. He says that if not for him, the streets would be in chaos. Padre Irene says he is sad that Simoun got sick and couldn’t attend the meeting.
Because of Padre Irene’s words, Capitan Tiago panics and has a heart attack. He grabs Padre Irene, but Padre Irene gets scared so he runs out of the house and leaves Capitan Tiago on the floor.
Chapter 29: Padre Irene attends Capitan Tiago’s funeral. The parish priest tells him that Capitan Tiago died without confessing but Padre Irene just laughs. It is revealed that Capitan Tiago named Padre Irene administrator and executor of his will. According to Padre Irene, he was the one who suggested to Capitan Tiago to leave twenty pesos for needy students. Padre Irene lets Basilio have twenty pesos from his own share, because Basilio was supposedly cut out of the will for being ungrateful.
Before the funeral, people argue about how Capitan Tiago’s body should be dressed, but Padre Irene decided that Capitan Tiago should wear an old suit because God doesn’t care about attire. At some point during the funeral, Padre Irene sings Dies Irae in falsetto and the neighbors get headaches.
Chapter 35: Padre Irene attends the wedding fiesta and is seen with Padre Salvi. Ben Zayb calls them “greater gods”. It is mentioned that earlier, Basilio was having second thoughts about helping Simoun, but stayed angry after seeing Padre Irene and Padre Salvi arrive.
During dinner, when Simoun’s note is passed around in the dining room, Padre Irene notices that Padre Salvi is scared, and asks if Padre Salvi recognizes the signature of his friend. Everyone becomes nervous.
When the lamp starts to dim, Capitan General asks Padre Irene to turn up the wick. But someone runs in and takes the lamp, leaving the room dark.
Chapter 36: In Ben Zayb’s article about the lamp incident, he describes how Padre Irene crawled under the table. Ben Zayb calls it brave, but the article is never published.
Physical Description
“…Who gives luster to the clergy with his ruddy, well-shaved face, from which rises a beautiful Jewish nose, and his silk soutane of elegant cut and tiny buttons.” (Chapter 1)
Padre Irene is described as being beardless, and his big nose is often mentioned in the novel, by other characters who make fun of it. His nose is so recognizable that even while wearing a disguise, students easily tell that it’s him (Chapter 21). He is often dressed in silk clothes.
Personality
Padre Irene is a mysterious priest who seems to keep a lot of secrets. He has connections with many characters, including Basilio, the students, Padre Salvi and Capitan General. He spends most of El Filibusterismo (El Fili) sharing information with other people; however, a lot of the information he shares turns out to be false. Padre Irene lies a lot and his statements often contradict each other depending on who he is talking to, but he is usually calm and smiling during most situations. This makes it difficult to tell if he is ever telling the truth. Examples include lying to the students about being the only one to support the petition for the Academy for Spanish, saying he is against the play but watching it in disguise and telling Basilio to keep Capitan Tiago alive while also Capitan Tiago opium. Because of his contradictory actions, Padre Irene’s true motives and beliefs remain unknown. Despite being a priest he seems to value wealth, as he is always dressed in expensive cloth and is given money and gifts by other characters.
Skills
Cunning
Padre Irene is shown to be very manipulative and is able to convince many people to believe his lies. He fools the students into believing that he is the only person to support the Petition for the Academy for Spanish (Chapter 15) and manages to prevent Capitan General from rejecting the petition. By the end of El Filibusterismo (El Fili), he has gained control of Capitan Tiago’s will, with Basilio being removed from it instead. It is never confirmed, however, if this was Padre Irene’s goal all along.
Camorra is unaware, and does not say a word about Sibyla’s poor playing because he respects him. But he finds Irene “contemptible and sleek, whose crudeness he detested”. (Chapter 11)
Relationships
See Relationships of Padre Irene
Beliefs
On Hispanization
Padre Irene works together with the students to get the petition for the Academy for Spanish approved, although it might only be because they gave him horses to convince him to help.
Trivia
- Padre Irene can speak French, a detail revealed in Chapter 22. He is also described as a “melomaniac”, which is someone who is sensitive to tones in sound.
Quotes
