St. Dymphna bears a prominent place on the healing altar at Caroline Dye Memorial Chapel, where I set lights for clients’ physical and mental health.
The Irish princess whom we now know as St. Dymphna lived in the seventh century; her father, Damon, was the king of Argialla, located in the present-day Irish counties of Ulster and Louth. He was a pagan, and her mother was a devout Christian.
At fourteen, Dymphna dedicated herself to Christ and took a vow of virginity, possibly in hopes that God would restore her mother’s declining health. When her mother died, King Damon was distraught, became unhinged, and refused to remarry. His next wife, he said, had to be as beautiful as his beloved wife — as Dymphna was. He repeatedly tried to force himself on her, and she fled, with her priest and a pair of servants. She ended up in Belgium and settled down in the town of Geel, where she helped to establish a hospital for the mentally ill. Her father found her and killed her and the priest. They were buried together in a cave, and were revered as saints soon thereafter. A church dedicated to them was built in 1349.
The hospital had to be expanded more than once, and overflow patients were lodged with local families, who compassionately folded them into their daily lives, offering friendship as well as work. This tradition still continues, with about a quarter of the 38,000 residents providing housing and friendship to the mentally ill. To my mind, that is the best part of her story.
To this day, the Catholic Church reveres her as the patron saint of mental health.
Simple altar work with St. Dymphna, Healer of Minds
To help you focus as you pray, you can print out a copy of her picture and place it beside a candle, along with whichever written prayer to her you like best. Remember, her job is not to replace God, but to pray to God along with you.
You can burn plain white candles if you wish, of course. But if you like to dress candles for extra spiritual focus and power, try blue votives (or votives or tea lights in blue holders) dedicated to St. Dymphna and dressed with basil, bay leaf, white mustard seed or mustard powder (from the spice section at the grocery store), a few grains of sugar and a couple of rose petals. Write out your petition and place it under the candle. One votive candle will last about 4 hours, so you don’t have to worry about leaving home when it’s burning.
Here at Caroline Dye Memorial Chapel, I dress and color vegetable oil lamps the same way.