A Patron Saint for those with Unquiet Minds

Saint Dymphna is well known as a patron of people living with mental illness. She was a 7th-century Irish princess who fled from her father, who seems to have had a mental illness, and she settled in Geel, Belgium, where she cared for people with mental illnesses. Because she lived so long ago, much of her story is shrouded in the mist of legend, so it is difficult to know with certainty much about Dymphna herself.

However, what is certain is that Saint Dymphna’s legacy inspired the people of Geel to show compassion for people who live with mental illness. Over the centuries, the people of Geel invited people with a mental illness to live and work in their community without any stigma or discrimination. Throughout the Middle Ages and even today, the town of Geel is known as a model for community acceptance of people who live with a mental illness.

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Good Saint Dymphna, great

wonder-worker in every

affliction of mind and body,

I humbly implore your

powerful intercession with

Jesus through Mary, the

Health of the Sick, in my

present need as I battle a dual diagnosis.

Saint Dymphna, martyr of purity, patroness of those

who suffer with nervous and mental afflictions,

beloved child of Jesus and Mary, pray to them for me