When I first started reading the story of St Dymphna, I thought, "Why hasn't this been made into a movie? This is great!" But then I got to the end and realized why. We read about her in the book In Caelo et in Terra, and you can also read more about her here.
She was a princess, and when the queen died, the king her father lost his mind. He started noticing how much Dymphna, his daughter, resembled his late wife. Dymphna and her confessor realized the danger she was in, so they fled. They moved to Belgium, along with the court jester and his wife. This is when I laughed and said, "That's crazy! That'd make a great movie!"
But then the king hunted her down. She and her confessor and the court jester had decided to live as celibate hermits in Belgium for the rest of their lives. But the king and his men found them. The king was outraged and ordered them all killed. His men killed her confessor, but couldn't bring themselves to kill the princess. So the king did it himself.
Such a sad ending to the earthly story. Of course, we know the story doesn't end there. St Dymphna is now in heaven, and is the patron saint of the mentally ill. We can ask for her intercession anytime we deal with those who suffer from mental illness in our lives.
God, thanks for redeeming the tragic death of this wonderful girl. St Dymphna, pray for us.
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