Also
known as Dympna ,Dimpna Memorial 15 May Profile
Daughter of a pagan Irish chieftain named Damon, and a beautiful devoted Christian
woman whose name has not come down to us. Her mother died when Dymphna was a teenager.
Her father searched the Western world for a woman to replace his wife, but none
could. Returning home, he saw that his daughter was as beautiful as her mother,
and maddened by grief, he made advances on her. She fought him off, then fled
to Belgium with Saint Gerebernus, an elderly priest and family friend. Dymphna's
father searched for them, and his search led to Belgium. There an innkeeper refused
to accept his money, knowing it was difficult to exchange. This told Damon that
his daughter was close - it would be unusual for a village innkeeper to know a
lot about foreign currency, and his knowledge indicated that had recently seen
it. The king concentrated his search in the area. When he found them in Gheel,
he beheaded Gerebernus, and demanded that Dymphna surrender to him. She refused,
and he killed her in a rage. The site where she died is known for its miraculous
healings of the insane and possessed. There is now a well-known institution on
the site, and her relics are reported to cure insanity and epilepsy. Patronage
against sleepwalking ,against epilepsy, against insanity ,against mental disorders
,against mental illness ,epileptics, family happiness, incest victims, loss of
parents, martyrs, mental asylums, mental health, caregivers, mental health professionals,
mental hospitals ,mentally ill people, nervous disorders ,neurological disorders,
possessed people, princesses, psychiatrists, rape victims, runaways, sleepwalkers,
therapists ,P Representation being beheaded by the
king kneeling at Mass while her father murders the priest ,Gerebernus lamp praying
in a cloud surrounded by a group of lunatics bound with golden chains, princess
holding a lamp and sword ,princess with a sword holding the devil on a leash ,young
woman with Saint Gerebernus Back
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