Saint Dymphna

Saint Dymphna (also spelled Dympna, Dimpna, Dymfna, Dimfna, Dympha; Irish Damhnait / Davnet) was a 7-th-century Irish virgin-martyr venerated in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Born to a pagan chieftain and a devout Christian mother, she was secretly baptized and raised in the faith; her name likely means “little poetess” (damh = poet + diminutive -ait).

After her mother’s death, Dymphna’s father descended into madness and became obsessed with his daughter’s likeness to his late wife. When he pressed her to enter an unlawful union, the teenaged Dymphna fled Ireland with her confessor, Saint Gerebernus, and a few companions.

They settled in Geel (modern Belgium), where Dymphna used her inheritance to serve the sick and the poor—until her father found them. When she refused him again, he beheaded Gerebernus and then killed his own daughter. Her life of quiet charity ended in martyrdom—a witness sealed in blood.

Centuries later, the tombs of Dymphna and Gerebernus were rediscovered, and healings of the mentally afflicted became closely linked to her intercession. A unique tradition of welcoming such persons into family homes arose in Geel and continues today.

Saint Dymphna is now patroness of those suffering mental illness, trauma, anxiety, abuse, and of the professionals who care for them. She is often shown with a lily (purity), a sword (martyrdom), and sometimes a book or crown (nobility). Her feast is kept on 30 May in the modern Roman Calendar (traditionally 15 May).