According to a hagiography written centuries after her traditional lifetime, Dymphna was the daughter of a pagan Irish king and a devout Christian mother. After her mother's death, her father — reportedly overcome by grief and mental illness — sought to marry Dymphna herself; she fled with her confessor to the town of Geel in what is now Belgium, where her father eventually found and beheaded her when she refused him.
The town of Geel became associated with the care of people with mental illness, a tradition of community-based care that continues in some form to this day, closely tied to her intercession.
Saint Dymphna
Patroness of Those with Mental Illness
According to tradition, a 7th-century Irish princess martyred by her own father, venerated as patroness of those suffering mental and nervous afflictions.
- Birthplace
- Ireland
- Died in
- Geel, Belgium
- Country
- Ireland
- Century
- 7th century
- Invoked for
- Mental Illness
Categories
Why People Pray to Saint Dymphna
Saint Dymphna is invoked by those suffering from mental illness, anxiety, and nervous disorders, and by their families and caregivers.
