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Life can be very difficult at times, especially for those that suffer from mental illness. Many will find comfort in wearing a devotional necklace to Saint Dymphna as she is the patron saint of those that suffer from mental disorders. We pray to Saint Dymphna for her intercession.
Saint Dymphna was born the daughter of an Irish King who had very strong pagan beliefs. From a young age, Saint Dymphna committed herself to Christ and chose to uphold her vows of chastity rather than give in to her father's inappropriate physical advances.
Her father, after losing his mother to an early death became mentally unstable and insisted on marrying his daughter Dymphna. In horror, Saint Dymphna fled with the help of her confessor and two court servants to the town of Glee, in Belgium where they built a hospice for the sick and poor.
The King was able to trace the use of his coins to build the hospice and eventually found his daughter. He ordered the confessor and servants killed. The king himself killed his daughter by beheading her after she refused to return home.
Many miracles have occurred for those suffering from mental or emotional illness on the site of Dymphna's murder. Many years after Saint Dymphna's death an infirmary was built in her honor.
Her feast day is on May 15th. She is the patron saint of those who suffer from mental disorders such as anxiety and depression. She is also the patron saint of runaways and victims of incest.