St. Dymphna is patron saint of those suffering from mental illness and those who are victims of incest.
Dymphna was born in seventh century Ireland. Her mother was a Christian and her father was a pagan. At the age of 14, Dymphna took a vow of virginity and consecrated herself to the Lord.
Things started to go downhill around that time. Dymphna’s mother died, and unfortunately, her father’s mental stability began to deteriorate rapidly, because he had loved her mother very much.
To try to help the situation, the King’s staff suggested that Dymphna’s father remarry. He was hesitant to do so, since he was still grieving, but agreed that he would remarry if he could find someone as beautiful as his late wife to marry. He searched high and low, sending people all over the kingdom to find a noble woman resembling his late wife. Unfortunately, their search was unsuccessful.
Dymphna’s father had evil advisors, who, in response to the failed search, suggested that he marry his daughter, who looked like her mother. He was still in a state of mental deterioration because of his grief, so he agreed.
Dymphna heard of this plan, and ran away with her confessor, two servants, and the king’s fool. They fled to Belgium. Legend has it that, while there, Dymphna used her wealth, as a member of the nobility, to build a hospital in her new town to help the poor and sick.
Unfortunately, Dymphna accidentally revealed her location to her father by using her money. When he found Dymphna and her companions, he had her confessor beheaded and tried to convince Dymphna to go back to Ireland with him and marry him. Dymphna refused.
Her father was furious, so he also beheaded Dymphna. She was only fifteen years old.
Lessons from St. Dymphna
Many early saints who faced toxic and potentially traumatic situations, such as Sts. Monica and Rita could not flee because of limited protections and abilities for women in their time. Because of the protection of her servants and confessor, Dymphna could flee her father.
We can learn from Dymphna that it is okay to flee when we are in dangerous situations because of the actions of those we love. And, as Dymphna was able to do through the hospital she built, getting out of a toxic situation can be an opportunity to do good.
May we learn from St. Dymphna the importance of fleeing situations that could harm us.
To learn more about saints who faced trauma, visit this page.