Why is St. Dymphna the patron saint of people suffering from mental illness? There is no indication that she was ever so afflicted; rather, it was her father who bore the disease. If you are not familiar with St. Dymphna’s story — or legend — he tale is most unusual. She was born into a privileged family in Ireland during the seventh century, a family consisting of a pagan chieftain, or king, named Damon and his Christian wife whose name we don’t know. They had one child, Dymphna. The child was raised as a Christian by her mother and, at a young age, pledged to live as a virgin in the sight of God.

When Dymphna was 14 or 15 her mother died. This was a great loss to the child, but the death devastated the king. He quickly fell into deep depression and became despondent with violent mood swings. His servants and staff suggested he find another wife, and, eventually, Damon agreed. But after looking and looking, no one could replace his departed spouse. As his depression and moods continued, those around him said he should consider marrying Dymphna as she had many of the qualities of his wife.

After some discernment, Damon allowed this to be a perfect solution, but Dymphna wanted nothing to do with such an incestual relationship. Her father persisted, causing Dymphna to run away accompanied by her confessor, Father Gerebran. At length, they arrived in Belgium, a considerable journey from Ireland, and settled in what they thought was the safe, out-of-the-way town of Geel (or Gheel). But their safety was short-lived as King Damon soon tracked them down. He arrived first seeking to persuade and then threatening his daughter and Father Gerebran.

Dymphna steadfastly rejected her father’s insistent bid for marriage. In response, Damon had the priest beheaded. When Dymphna still would not relent, the king took his sword and cut off her head. The locals, aware of this tragedy, buried Dymphna and Father Gerebran in a nearby cave. There are many versions of these events, none of which were widely known until the 13th century.

This incident reminds one of Susanna in the Book of Daniel (cf. chapter 13) who was similarly trapped and confronted by evil. However, in the case of Dymphna, no hero, no Daniel, came to her aide. She shed her blood that day rather than succumb to the demands of her deranged father.

Dymphna’s Intercession

The story goes that soon after the death of Dymphna, around 620, several individuals suffering from mental disorders picked the spot of her death to spend the night. The next morning, they were all miraculously cured. This was the beginning of the popularity of St. Dymphna. Local people began to venerate her and considered her as surely in heaven because she died defending her virginity which she had promised to God, and because she would not deny the moral teachings of Christ. As the account of Dymphna’s martyrdom and the miracle cures spread, the site was frequented by more and more people suffering from mental illness seeking the saint’s intercession to God on their behalf.

From the time of her seventh-century death, the people in and around Geel regarded Dymphna a saint. This was during an era well before the existence of a universal process for selecting saints (every village and town had its own saints). She was never formally canonized but, around the 13th century, added to the list of saints. Her feast day is May 30, changed from May 15 in 2004. In “Butler’s Lives of the Saints,” she is called a virgin martyr.

Her life and the circumstances of her death are based on oral tradition, with few facts ever confirmed by other means. The year she was named a saint, a church was built on the site of her death. Two bodies were exhumed from the supposed site of the saint’s martyrdom — one coffin had the word “Dymphna” inscribed on it; the other body was believed to be that of Father Gerebran. St. Dymphna’s remains are in the Church of St. Dymphna at Geel. The church is regarded as a shrine. Relics of Father Gerebran were enshrined in Sonsbeck, Germany; the site was destroyed during World War II. He, too, is considered a martyr.

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Whole Person and Mental Health

The word “psyche” comes from the Greek language, meaning soul, and the Church recognizes this God-given gift in every person, that we are all made in his likeness. In other words, those suffering from mental illness are viewed by the Church as a whole person, which includes their soul. The medical profession may see the disease as one only of the body.

At the Mass for the Sick on Feb. 11, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI (r. 2005-13) shared these profound words regarding those suffering from mental illness, reflecting on the whole person: “We all know that Jesus stood before man in his wholeness in order to heal him completely, in body, mind and spirit. Indeed, the human person is a unity and his various dimensions can and must be distinguished but not separated. Thus the Church, too, always proposes to consider people as such, and this conception qualifies Catholic healthcare institutions as well as the approach of the healthcare workers employed in them.

“At this time, I am thinking in particular of families with a mentally ill member who are experiencing the weariness and the various problems that this entails. We feel close to all these situations, especially where legislation is lacking, public structures are inadequate and natural disasters or, unfortunately, wars and armed conflicts are producing in people serious psychological traumas. These are forms of poverty which attract the charity of Christ, the Good Samaritan and the Church, indissolubly united with him in her service to suffering humanity.”

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The City of Geel

Over the centuries, the church in Geel has seen thousands of pilgrims with mental illness, people seeking the intercession of Dymphna to make them whole again. Eventually, there were so many visitors that the church containing Dymphna’s remains could not hold everyone seeking help. First, a sick room was added to the church and people stayed there waiting to get close and pray in the presence of the saint’s remains, but soon the numbers even exceeded that room. So, the inhabitants of Geel took the afflicted pilgrims into their homes and continue to do so today.

For 700 years, the city of Geel has been the standard for how best to treat individuals with mental health issues. Under the umbrella of the local and renowned mental hospital, citizens of Geel take in individuals as boarders and treat them as part of their household and community.

The locals attach no stigma to the suffering individuals, no judgments assigned, just compassion. The town has become a spot of miraculous healings. St. Dymphna continues to be the ultimate source of spiritual healing for those suffering and the strength for the earthly angels of Geel.

Catholic Church and Mental Health

The Church has stepped up to the challenge of this widespread, growing disease and initiated certain practices that are not unlike the successful methods of the people of Geel: treating those suffering mental disease as individuals, including them, making them part of the parish, showing them their sense of value. Oftentimes, the sick person is fragile, reluctant to confirm their illness, and thus patience and understanding are proven traits when offering help.

Pope Francis has acknowledged that he received mental health assistance early in his life and said in a 2019 interview: “I’m convinced that every priest must know human psychology. There are those who know it from experience of the years, but the study of psychology is necessary for a priest” (La Nacion newspaper).

In 2021, the Vatican Dicastery for Integral Human Development claimed that over a billion people worldwide were impacted by some sort of mental disorder. Interestingly, studies have indicated that individuals with mental issues were likely to turn to their parish priest before seeking help from medical professionals. This is not too surprising as often the afflicted person knows and in many cases is close to their pastor; they recognize him as a source of hope, of the sacraments and as a channel of God’s healing power.

Of course, a priest is not a doctor and cannot offer medical advice, but what he can offer is spiritual guidance and comfort. He can also help the person with a way forward, suggesting medical professionals and offering practical support. In a like manner, he can encourage the parish and the individual to seek the intercession of St. Dymphna, through prayer and novenas, as people have for centuries. Most of all he, with the help of his parishioners, can keep the issue from being ignored and the individual from being shunned.

Pope St. John Paul II (r. 1978-2005) said: “Whoever suffers from mental illness ‘always’ bears God’s image and likeness in himself, as does every human being. In addition, he ‘always’ has the inalienable right not only to be considered as an image of God and therefore as a person, but also treated as such” (International Conference for the Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, Nov 30, 1996).

The Church offers many resources to counter mental health issues, a large number sanctioned at the diocesan level and by the Vatican. Some such resources can be found and accessed through the internet: Mental Health First Aid, The Association of Catholic Mental Health Ministers, Treatment Advocacy Center, The Sanctuary Courses for Catholics. The U.S. bishops have initiated actions, providing a commonsense approach and numerous recommendations on the USCCB website, including the bishops’ National Catholic Mental Health Campaign announced in November 2023. Dioceses across the United States have adopted programs seeking to deal with this disease and are making those programs available to parish leadership.

Contributing to today’s mental health crisis is a world beset by an anything-and-everything-goes attitude, a society teetering on moral decay and an unraveling culture where the existence of God is often denied. The result is fear, worry, anxiety, depression for many who are unable to cope with beliefs that reject all that is sacred. Priests can challenge this moral depravity and its impact on the individual, on mankind, by steadfastly proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus and the virtues of Christianity, of the Church.

D.D. EMMONS writes from Pennsylvania