Saint Dymphna

Saint Dymphna was born in Ireland in the seventh century, daughter of a pagan king. Her Christian mother raised her in faith and charity toward the poor and sick.

After her mother's death, her father, overcome with grief, sought a new wife resembling the deceased. Finding none, he turned his gaze toward his own daughter.

Dymphna fled with her confessor Gerebernus and the deacon Bertrand, crossing the sea to the town of Geel in Flanders, where she devoted herself to the sick and poor.

Her father pursued them, found them, and ordered Gerebernus killed. Dymphna refused to yield to the king's demands and was beheaded by him, becoming a martyr of purity and faith.

The people of Geel preserved her memory and, over centuries, welcomed pilgrims with mental suffering, giving rise to one of Europe's oldest traditions of community care.

She was canonized in 1247. Her feast is celebrated on May 15. She is patroness of those who suffer mental distress and anxiety.