St. Dymphna

St. Dymphna (7th c.) was the daughter of a pagan Irish chieftain and his Christian wife. Dymphna's father loved his wife deeply; when she died, he was so overcome with grief that he became afflicted with a mental illness. Unable to find a suitable woman to remarry, he attempted to marry his own beautiful daughter because of the close resemblance Dymphna had to her mother. Dymphna, upon learning of his wicked plan, fled across the sea into Belgium along with her confessor. Her father pursued them and eventually discovered their location by tracing the foreign money they used along the way. He killed Dymphna's confessor and pleaded with his daughter to return with him to Ireland to be his wife. When she refused, he cut off her head. St. Dymphna's church still stands on the place of her burial near Antwerp. There have been numerous accounts of people with epilepsy and mental illness who have visited her tomb and received miraculous cures through her intercession. Because of this, St. Dympha is the patroness of those suffering from mental and neurological disorders and illnesses, as well as of mental health professionals. Her feast day is May 15th.