Born in the 7th century, Dymphna was a princess, the daughter of the Irish King Damon. While the king was a pagan, the queen, Dymphna’s mother, was a devout Christian who raised her daughter in faith.

At the age of 14, Dymphna took a vow of chastity and consecrated herself to Christ. Around this time, the queen died. The king was devastated and began to show signs of great distress and rapid mental decline. His counsellors felt it best that he re-marry but he insisted on marrying only if he could find a woman as beautiful as the queen.

The search was fruitless and the king spiralled deeper into his mental instability. Tragically, he became intent on marrying his daughter Dymphna because of her resemblance to her mother.

Dymphna refused to marry him and fled to present-day Belgium. But the king, suffering from deep psychosis, pursued her and finally beheaded her when she refused to give in to his advances.

After Dymphna’s death, she was recognized as a martyr for purity. But during the middle ages, pilgrims visiting the site where her relics were kept began receiving miraculous healings from all kinds of mental illnesses. Since then, she has been invoked upon as a special intercessor for mental disorders.