{"id":26406,"date":"2025-05-15T00:28:26","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T23:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/?p=26406"},"modified":"2025-07-22T19:44:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T18:44:50","slug":"saint-dymphna-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/saint-dymphna-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint Dymphna"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"geel_20.jpg\"<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

A Very Popular Saint<\/h2>\n

May 15th is the feast of Saint Dymphna<\/strong>. Since we at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle are blessed to have and to venerate a first class relic of Saint Dymphna, we decided some years ago to have a novena in her honour. We even composed a hymn for the occasion<\/a>. The novena turned into one of the favourite events we have yet hosted, and for quite a number of years visitors were commenting on it.<\/p>\n

The Lily of \u00c9ire<\/h2>\n

Ireland has long been called the ISLE OF SAINTS.<\/b> Among the holy sons and daughters of Ireland is the virgin Saint Dymphna, who, on account of her purity and blazing love for Christ, even unto martyrdom, is sometimes referred to as the “Lily of \u00c9ire.”<\/p>\n

The records of her life and martyrdom are sparse, but Saint Dymphna\u2019s countless miracles attest to the power of her glorious intercession in heaven. She is considered the patron Saint of those who suffer from mental illnesses, emotional maladjustment, nervous disorders, and epilepsy. She is also the patron saint of runaways, and those who have suffered domestic or sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

A Christian Child<\/h2>\n

Born in the 7th century, when Ireland was almost universally Catholic, Dymphna was the child of a minor king, a pagan named Oriel and a devout Christian mother remarkable both for her piety and beauty. Dymphna was, like her mother, lovely in every way; tenderness and attention surrounded her from birth. Baptized by the saintly priest Gerebernus, little Dymphna learned her letters along with the truths of the faith. When still young, Dymphna, like so many other Irish girls filled with love for Christ, both before and after her, chose Him for her Divine Bridegroom, consecrating her virginity to Him and to His Blessed Mother by a vow of chastity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mother\u2019s Death<\/h2>\n

The unexpected death of Dymphna\u2019s mother plunged her into sorrow. Faith in Christ and in His promises of eternal life was Dymphna\u2019s only comfort in the grief of her immense loss.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Flight<\/h2>\n

Dymphna\u2019s father, driven to a kind of madness by the death of his wife, sought to force Dymphna into an incestuous relationship with himself. Horrified at the suggestion, Dymphna fled Ireland in the company of the priest Gerebernus.<\/p>\n

Belgium<\/h2>\n

With all speed, therefore, she set out for the continent, accompanied by the priest Gerebernus, the court jester and his wife. After a favorable passage, they arrived on the coast near the present city of Antwerp. Having stopped for a short rest, they resumed their journey and came to a little village named Gheel. Here they were hospitably received and began to make plans for establishing their future abode at this place.<\/p>\n

Martyrdom of Saint Gerebernus, Priest\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

The king, having discovered Dymphna\u2019s flight, set out in search of the fugitives. After some time, their place of refuge was located by following the trail of Irish coins. At first, Dymphna\u2019s father tried to persuade her to return with him, but when the priest Gerebernus rebuked him for his wicked intentions, the king gave orders that Gerebernus should be put to death. The king\u2019s men laid violent hands upon the priest and, with one blow of the steel, his head was severed from his shoulders. Thus did another glorious martyr enter the kingdom of heaven in triumph.<\/p>\n

Martyrdom of Saint Dymphna, Virgin<\/h2>\n

Further attempts on the part of Dymphna\u2019s father to induce her to return with him proved fruitless. Infuriated by Dymphna\u2019s resistance, her father drew his sword and beheaded his own child. Thus did Dymphna win the double crown of virginity and martyrdom in the fifteenth year of her age, on the fifteenth day of May, between 620 and 640, now kept as her feastday.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Statue of St Dymphna in the Monastery’s Sacristy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Discovery of the Relics<\/h2>\n

The records of Dymphna\u2019s life and death say that the bodies of the two martyred saints lay on the ground until the inhabitants of Gheel removed them to a cave for burial. After several years, the Christian villagers, recalling their holy deaths, decided to give the bodies a more suitable burial. Great was their astonishment upon finding two beautiful tombs, carved from white stone, as if by the hands of angels. When the coffin of Saint Dymphna was opened,\u00a0 there was found on her breast a red tile bearing the inscription: \u201cHere lies the holy virgin and martyr, Dymphna.\u201d The remains of the saint were placed in a small church. Later necessity obliged the erection of the magnificent \u201cChurch of St. Dymphna,\u201d which now stands on the site where the bodies were first buried.<\/p>\n

Miracles and cures of people afflicted with melancholy, anxiety, and other psychological pathologies and emotional maladjustments began to occur in continually increasing numbers.<\/p>\n

The Miracle of Gheel<\/h2>\n

At first the sick pilgrims were lodged in a hostel adjacent to the church. Gradually, the families of Gheel welcomed the mentally ill into their own homes until, at length, Gheel became a town world-famous for its charitable care of the insane and mentally afflicted. Canonesses Regular of St. Augustine opened a hospital at Gheel; patients, released from the hospital, were placed in local families, where they were helped to lead a comparatively normal life. \u00a0After generations of experience, the people of Gheel have developed clinical and spiritual skills in dealing with their charges. Their Christ\u2013like love for the afflicted members of society continues to the present day.<\/p>\n

A Prayer<\/h2>\n

For some years, we have distributed from our Gatehouse this prayer to Saint Dymphna.<\/p>\n

O glorious Saint Dymphna<\/strong>,<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Saint Dymphna and Companions by Goswin van der Weyden (1504\u20131505)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

virgin martyr and chaste bride of Christ,
\nchild of Ireland,
\nbereft of thy mother,
\nobject of thy grief-stricken father’s unlawful desires,
\npure dove who, to preserve thy purity, didst fly to foreign shores,
\ndauntless follower of the immolated Lamb,
\nwilling exile from thy homeland,
\nspiritual daughter of the holy priest Gerebernus,
\ntraveler through the dark of unknown forests,
\ntreasure hidden in the shadow of Saint Martin,
\nlover of solitude and living sanctuary of ceaseless prayer,
\ncompassionate handmaid of the poor and afflicted,
\nthou art no stranger to suffering.<\/p>\n

O virgin nourished by the Bread of Life,
\nvirgin strong in thy weakness,
\nvirgin ablaze with the fire of the Holy Ghost,
\nvictim of thy demented father’s cruel rage,
\nvictim with the Immaculate Host,
\nvictim mingling thy blood with the Blood of the Lamb,
\nturn thy gaze upon us who seek thy intercession today,
\nand hearken to our supplications.<\/p>\n

Thy name, O Saint Dymphna, is spread abroad in the churches of Christ,
\nwhere the suffering faithful invoke thee
\nas the friend of exiles and of those in flight from persecution,
\nas the unfailing advocate of the mentally ill, the emotionally distraught, and the despondent,
\nas the light of those in the darkness of depression,
\nthe hope of the hopeless,
\nthe cheer and comfort of the sorrowing,
\nthe deliverer of those in the grip of anxiety,
\nthe courage of those stricken with panic,
\nthe healer of confused minds,
\nand the solace of grieving hearts.<\/p>\n

Confident in thy powerful intercession,
\nwe beseech thee, Saint Dymphna
\nto comfort all who, burdened by mental anguish or confusion,
\nstruggle daily to make their way in this valley of tears.
\nGive them a garland for ashes,
\nthe oil of joy for sadness,
\nand a garment of praise for the spirit of grief.<\/p>\n

Let no one who seeks thy help today go away empty,
\nfor thou art powerful over the heart of Christ,
\nand He will heed thy pleading on our behalf
\nwith the healing of darkened minds,
\nthe consolation of broken hearts,
\nand the gracious manifestation of His merciful goodness towards all. Amen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Very Popular Saint May 15th is the feast of Saint Dymphna. Since we at the Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle are blessed to have and to venerate a first class relic of Saint Dymphna, we decided some years ago to have a novena in her honour. We even composed a hymn for <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":589,"featured_media":26409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-saint-dymphna"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Dymphna.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paVypq-6RU","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26406"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/589"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26406"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26414,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26406\/revisions\/26414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}