A church was built in her honour,. Since her canonization, St. Dymphna has been considered an intercessor with special concern for people suffering from mental illness. In modern art, Saint Dymphna is shown holding the sword, which symbolizes her martyrdom, quite awkwardly. Host families have no special training in psychology or social work and refer to their guests as boarders rather than patients. She founded this website to provide clear answers to canonical questions asked by ordinary Catholics, without employing all the mysterious legalese that canon lawyers know and love. Somewhere along the line, a friend, noticing my necklace, mentioned that people pray to St. Dymphna for help with mental health problems. St. Gerebrand - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online But among all the documentation, you will search in vain for even one mention of anybody named Philomena. In fact, this may actually not be the name of the person in the tomb at all, for the Greco-Latin roots of the word simply mean lover of the light, and thus the tomb-inscription may have been intended as a description of the deceased person rather than her personal name. All Rights Reserved |, Embrace the theology we learn from family stories, Younger Catholics are seeking new models of sainthood, Pray with the four elements to connect to God and the Earth. Often asked: Why Was Saint Patrick Made A Saint? If this had happened, there would be no fundamental doubt that Philomena was an early Christian martyr. He had Gerebernus He became obsessed with pursuing an incestuous marriage with her, but Dymphna refused to break her religious vows. Catholic.org - with thousands of pages of magisterial content. When Dymphna refused, Damon became enraged and drew his sword. According to the biography Vitae Dymphnae et S. Gereberni presbiteri (English: Life Dymphna and St. Gerebern priest), which Peter of Cambrai, a canon of the Abbey of St-Gry-et-Aubert in Cambrai, recorded in the 13th century, Gerebernus was an Irish priest who lived in the 6th or 7th centuries. It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, Copyright 2022 Catholic Online. What did Saint Dymphna do to become a saint? Born: 1872 Dymphna. Many of the accounts of his life either come from an inscription by Pope Damasus I, or are legends that have spread over the centuries with little to no historical foundation.