St. Dymphna

St. Dymphna
St. Dymphna
    St. Dymphna
     Catholic_Encyclopedia St. Dymphna
    (Also known as Dympna and Dimpna).
    Virgin and martyr. The earliest historical account of the veneration of St. Dymphna dates from the middle of the thirteenth century. Under Bishop Guy I of Cambrai (1238-47), Pierre, a canon of the church. of Saint Aubert at Cambrai, wrote a "Vita" of the saint, from which we learn that she had been venerated for many years in a church at Gheel (province of Antwerp, Belgium), which was devoted to her. The author expressly states that he has drawn his biography from oral tradition. According to the narrative Dymphna, the daughter of a pagan king of Ireland, became a Christian and was secretly baptized. After the death of her mother, who was of extraordinary beauty, her father desired to marry his own daughter, who was just as beautiful, but she fled with the priest Gerebernus and landed at Antwerp. Thence they went tot the village of Gheel, where there was a chapel of St. Martin, beside which they took up their abode. The messengers of her father however, discovered their whereabouts; the father betook himself thither and renewed his offer. Seeing that all was in vain, he commanded his servants to slay the priest, while he himself struck off the head of his daughter. The corpses were put in sacrophagi and entombed in a cave where they were found later. The body of St. Dymphna was buried in the church of Gheel, and the bones of St. Gerebernus were transferred to Kanten. This narrative is without any historical foundation, being merely avariation of the story of the king who wanted to marry his own daughter, a motif which appears frequently in popular legends. Hence we can conclude nothing from it as to the history of St. Dymphna and the time in which she lived. That she is identical with St. Damhnat of Ireland cannot be proved. There are at Gheel fragments of two simple ancient sarcophagi in which tradition says the bodies of Dymphna and Gerebernus were found. There is also a quadrangular brick, said to have been found in one of the sarcophagi, bearing two lines of letters read as DYMPNA. The discovery of this sarcophagus with the corpse and the brick was perhaps the origin of the veneration. In Christian art St. Dymphna is depicted with a sword in her hand and a fettered devil at her feet. Her feast is celebrated 15 May, under which date she is also found in the Roman martyrology.
    From time immemorial, the saint was invoked as patroness against insanity. The Bollandists have published numerous accounts of miraculous cures, especially between 1604 and 1668. As a result, there has long been a colony for lunatics at Gheel; even now there are sometimes as many as fifteen hundred whose relatives invoke St. Dymphna for their cure. The insane are treated in a peculiar manner; it is only in the beginning that they are placed in an institution for observation; later they are given shelter in the homes of the inhabitants, take part in their agricultural labours, and are treated very kindly. They are watched without being conscious of it. The treatment produces good results. The old church of St. Dymphna in Gheel was destroyed by fire in 1489. The new church was consecrated in 1532 and is still standing. Every year on the feast of the saint and on the Tuesday after Pentecost numerous pilgrims visit her shrine. In Gheel there is also a fraternity under her name.
    J.P. KIRSCH
    Transcribed by Paul T. Crowley Dedicated to Tracy Sedin and Family

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


Catholic encyclopedia.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dymphna Cusack — AM (21 September 1902 19 October 1981) was an Australian author. Born in West Wyalong, New South Wales, Dymphna Cusack was educated at St Ursula s College,[1] and graduated from Sydney University with an honours degree in Arts and a diploma in… …   Wikipedia

  • Dymphna Cusack — (1947) Ellen Dymphna Cusack AM (* 21. September 1902 in Wyalong, New South Wales; † 19. Oktober 1981) war eine australische Schriftstellerin, die neben sieben Theaterstücken, drei Reiseberichten, zwei …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dymphna, Saint — • Virgin and martyr, venerated since at least the thirteenth century Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Dymphna — f Irish: Anglicized form of the Gaelic name Damhnait, apparently a feminine diminutive form of damh fawn. Little is known of the saint of this name, who is regarded as the protector of the deranged and lunatic; her relics are preserved at Gheel,… …   First names dictionary

  • Dymphna — This article is about the person. For the album by Gang Gang Dance, see Saint Dymphna (album). Saint Dymphna Saint Dymphna: fanciful portrait from an old holy card The Lily of Éire Born …   Wikipedia

  • Dymphna (Heilige) — Hl. Dymphna mit Schwert (Altarbild der Kirche am Steinhof) Die Hl. Dymphna (auch Dimpna, Dymfna, Dimfna oder Dympna) ist die Patronin der psychisch Kranken. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Dymphna Clark — Hilma Dymphna Clark, née Lodewyckx (18 December 1916 12 May 2000), was a language scholar and married to the historian Manning Clark. Born in Melbourne, Australia, and of Scandinavian and Dutch ancestry, Clark was educated at Mont Albert Central… …   Wikipedia

  • Dymphna — Hl. Dymphna mit Schwert (Altarbild der Kirche am Steinhof) Die Hl. Dymphna (auch Dimpna, Dymfna, Dimfna oder Dympna) ist die Patronin der psychisch Kranken. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Saint Dymphna — Infobox Saint name= Saint Dymphna birth date= death date=7th century feast day= May 15 venerated in= Roman Catholic Church imagesize= 220px caption= Saint Dymphna: fanciful portrait from an old holy card birth place= death place= titles=… …   Wikipedia

  • Sainte Dymphna — Dymphne de Geel Sainte Dymphne de Geel (aussi Dymphna, Dymfna, Dimfna, Dympna ou Dimpna) est une sainte martyre du VIIe siècle, probablement née en Angleterre. Elle est la sainte patronne de la ville de Geel dans la Province d Anvers en… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”