St. Dymphna Chapel
Anchoring our university in
the sacramental life
A chapel dedicated to patron saints of mental health needs
Welcome to the St. Dymphna Chapel!
Prayer and the Sacraments form the heart and soul of Divine Mercy University, and we are overjoyed to share this St. Dymphna Chapel with the world. True healing incorporates God’s grace with the skill of the human sciences, and we truly want this chapel to be “a house of prayer for all people.”
This chapel is especially dedicated to those suffering from mental afflictions, to their families and friends, and to those who seek to accompany, treat, and heal them.
The St. Dymphna Chapel was officially blessed by The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, and opened on September 21, 2024.
We are sincerely grateful to our generous benefactors who have brought this chapel to life!
St. Dymphna is the patron saint of those with mental disorders. In addition, we honor the following patron saints who also have a connection to the mission of DMU:
St. Dymphna
St. Dymphna lived in Ireland in the seventh century and was the daughter of a pagan King. Dymphna’s Christian mother died when she was just 14, and this loss put her father into such distress that he became mentally unstable. When he decided to replace his wife by marrying his daughter, Dymphna refused and fled to the city of Gheel in Belgium. Her father found her soon after, and in his anger he beheaded Dymphna and left her body in Gheel where she was buried.
Gheel became a place of pilgrimage for the mentally ill, and many miraculous healings have occurred through her intercession.
As a result, St. Dymphna was canonized in 1247, and named the patroness of those suffering from mental and nervous disorders, as well as victims of incest.
We pray that St. Dymphna would intercede for DMU as we strive to address the growing need for mental health services in our world today.
St. Josephine Bakhita
Josephine Bakhita had a happy childhood until she was kidnapped by Arab slave traders in 1877. Although she was only 7 or 8 at the time, she was forced to walk barefoot over 600 miles to a slave market. Over 12 years she was bought, sold, or traded more than a dozen times, and suffered from beatings, cuttings, and intentional scarring. She was eventually sold to an Italian family who treated her well and brought her to Italy. Ahead of a long overseas trip, they asked the Canossian Sisters to take her in. There, Josephine learned about Jesus.
When her master returned, she fought a legal battle for her freedom and won. She then decided to become a Canossian Sister. She was baptized by the priest who would later become Pope Pius X. St. Josephine Bakhita was known for her gentle and charismatic nature, and said that if she saw her kidnappers again she would thank them, for it was through her enslavement that she came to know Jesus Christ.
She is the patron saint of victims of human trafficking and modern slavery.
St. Faustina
In 1913, the Polish sister Maria Faustina Kowalska received a vision of Jesus dressed in a white garment, gesturing to his heart from which flowed rays of blood and water. Our Lord told St. Faustina that he desired not to punish mankind, but to heal its woundedness by pressing it to his Merciful Heart.
Jesus instructed her to write down what he would inspire in her, to bring his message of Divine Mercy to the world. We know that Jesus desires healing for suffering humanity, and he offers this healing to all of us through his Divine Mercy.
At DMU, we endeavor to imitate St. Faustina by bringing this message of hope to those who carry the heavy burden of mental illness and psychological distress.
St. Mark Ji
Mark Ji Tianxiang was a Catholic doctor who lived in 19th century China. He was known for a life of prayer, piety, and giving free medical treatment to those who could not pay. Unfortunately, he contracted a disease which he began treating with opium, but which developed into a debilitating, thirty-year addiction. Without a modern understanding of mental disease, his confessor eventually barred him from confession and the Eucharist due to his seeming lack of resolve to sin no more. Mark Ji obeyed, but continued to go to Church for more than 30 years without partaking of the sacraments. During the Boxer Rebellion, he and his family were rounded up with other Christians. Forced to repudiate Christ, he refused, and asked to be executed last so that his family members would not die alone.
As a disciple who persevered until the end, even with the heavy cross of addiction, St. Mark Ji inspires all who suffer from addiction or mental illness.
St. Benedict Joseph Labre
Known as the “Beggar of Rome,” Benedict Joseph Labre was actually born in France in 1748 to a well-to-do family. His uncle was a parish priest who educated him in the religious life. When an epidemic struck, Labre and his uncle worked hard to help the sick and their households, though his uncle ultimately succumbed to the disease. Labre then attempted to join the Trappists, Carthusians, and Cistercians but was rejected each time. He discerned that he was called to be a mendicant, owning nothing and traveling widely throughout Europe visiting as many sacred sites as he could. He was known for praying many hours in front of the Eucharist, talking little, and enduring abuse and hardships patiently. He was also known for performing miracles, including levitation, bilocation, and the multiplication of food. Toward the end of his life, Labre settled in Rome and lived in the ruins of the Colosseum. As a poor outcast living on the fringes of society, St. Benedict Joseph Labre is the patron saint of the homeless, outcasts, and those with mental illness.
St. Therese of Lisieux, Ss. Louis & Zelie Martin & Family
St. Therese of Lisieux is the child of the only couple who was canonized together (by Pope Francis in 2015), Louis and Zelie Martin, who created an exquisite home of Christian prayer, charity, love, and support. In 1858 Louis and Zelie met, fell in love, and were married. They had nine children. In 1877, Zelie died of breast cancer at age 45. Therese, their youngest child, was only 4.5 years old and was deeply impacted by her mother’s death. She developed acute social anxiety, avoiding others, crying and hiding at school, and getting bullied. For 10 years her family was her only reprieve as her sisters took on a maternal role for her and she adored her father. She said, “God gave me a father and a mother who were more worthy of heaven than of earth.” Although she is the most famous child, the “Little Flower” and Doctor of the Church, in fact all five of the Martin children became religious sisters including Sr. Francoise Therese who was named Servant of God in 2015. Ss. Louis and Zelie Martin are the patron saints of Christian families.
Artwork by Elizabeth Zelasko, ElizabethZelasko.com
We are blessed to have relics of St. Dymphna and St. Faustina here in our chapel!
How may we pray for you at the St. Dymphna Chapel?
Our chapel is a place of prayer for all our students, faculty, staff, and visitors. As Bishop Burbidge noted during his homily, “May [this chapel] be a sacred place where we rest in the Lord so we can be recipients of his peace and instruments of his peace.”
We would like to pray for you and your intentions with the intercession of those saints we honor here in the chapel. The Mass offered at DMU on the first Fridays of each month is offered specifically for our benefactors and their intentions. Please click the button below to send us your prayer intentions, and may God bless you abundantly.
Looking to make a greater impact? Join the many who have chosen to honor family, friends, or loved ones with a special memorial on our wall panel.
Ways to Give
To donate by check, please make your check payable to
Divine Mercy University
with “New Chapel” in the memo line,
and mail to:
Divine Mercy University
45154 Underwood Ln
Sterling, VA 20166
To donate over the phone, please call us at
(703) 589-9074
To donate online,
Fill out the form below
Questions?
Contact Thomas Cronquist
at (703) 518-0281