St. Dymphna
Patron of mental illness, anxiety, and victims of incest
- Feast day
- May 15
- Origin
- Ireland and Belgium
- Era
- 7th century
About the saint
Dymphna was, by tradition, the daughter of a pagan Irish chieftain and a Christian mother in the seventh century. When her mother died and her father''s grief turned to obsession with her, she fled with her confessor Gerebernus across the sea to Geel in what is now Belgium.
Her father tracked her down. When she refused to return, he killed her himself. She was about fifteen.
For centuries the church at Geel drew pilgrims with mental illness, and the town developed a remarkable tradition of family foster care for psychiatric patients that continues today. She is one of the principal patrons of those who suffer nervous and emotional disorders.
Documented miracles
The cures at Geel
Medieval records report a series of healings of people with mental illness at her shrine, giving rise to the town's centuries-old care tradition.
Geel, from the 13th century