A Saint For Those With Mental Illness — Part I

By Timothy Duff, STM

Reflection for the Beginning of Lent

In a special way — though there are other Saints who specially intercede for those in the throes of emotional turmoil, psychologically or psychiatrically — St. Benedict Joseph Labre is singularly the patron Saint of the mentally ill in the latter days for several reasons. His was a pronounced, distinctively eccentric presence of his times, much like many of the severely disturbed in our modern, chaotic world.

Homelessness is at an all-time high as is severe cognitive discord. Persons are in misery, baffled by their own personhood, disordered in the intellect, imprisoned by passion, and blinded in conscience. The Saint's tattered clothes are still hanging in the relic case on the wall in the small chapel near the Church where he is buried in Rome. 

St. Benedict Joseph, in his day and for us now, shows the way to seek the spiritual and psychological help necessary to not only accept the struggles associated with mental illness but to also elevate the soul above the physical psychosis that threatens to turn persons against themselves in rage and self-destruction. Through prayers, genuine compassion, and authentic community, persons with mental illness can find freedom from the chains of depression, mood swings, and dissociative conditions that lead to self-loathing and often death and accept their suffering, along with wise assistance of others.

St. Benedict Joseph's Life

The following has been authenticated in our Saint’s canonization process.

Let us go back to April 16, 1783 which was Wednesday of Holy Week.

It was six o’clock in the evening; all of the bells in Rome were ringing out the Salve Regina. Shouts of children running through the street could be heard, “The Saint is dead! The Saint is dead!”

In an upstairs room of a butcher’s house lay the dead body of the beggar Benedict Joseph Labre. A young man of thirty-five years whose journey in life was one of extreme humility, prayer and penance. To this day, there is a small chapel in the very room which received him in death where all the important relics of his life are kept. 

A week before Benedict Joseph died, he approached his confessor in tears, Fr. Marconi, and told Father that he had sinned because he saw a vision of Jesus’s sacramental presence being removed from the Church of Santa Maria ai Monti and put in its place was his very own body. What Benedict thought to be the sin of pride was an actual prophetic vision regarding his own death. A week later, Benedict passed out on the steps of this very same Church and was carried up to the room where he died in the presence of the local butcher.

The next day, in Benedict Joseph’ favorite Church of Santa Maria ai Monti, the Blessed Sacrament was removed and holy week services had to be canceled. Numerous crowds were entering this Church where the body of Benedict Joseph was laid out for his funeral Mass. Even the Corsican Guards were called to keep order in the Church. Accounts of one hundred and thirty-six extraordinary miracles had been reported all throughout Rome as a result of the sanctity of Benedict Joseph.

Why would Jesus allow honor to be given to this homeless beggar instead of the Blessed Sacrament? 

St. Benedict Joseph was the oldest of fifteen children; born on March 26, 1748 in the farming community of Ammettes, France. His parents tell us that he had a cheerful and beautiful disposition, above average intellect and memory, perfect docility and a profound priestly-like piety. In fact, when Benedict was young the whole neighborhood would gather to watch him pray and serve Mass. For he was called by many, “The Little Priest.”

Because of all these qualities, he went at different times to live with his two uncles who were parish priests. They wanted to groom our saint for the priesthood. However, it was during this time that a great desire came upon Benedict Joseph to live the most austere life and to enter the strictest order in the Church. And it was at this same time that sicknesses of mind and body began that would be with him his entire life. Several times he tried to enter the austere religious order at La Trappe, but only to be disappointed. He would travel walking through the elements of bad weather which would almost kill him. He was trying and hoping to become a religious.

 Read our related articles,

"A Saint For Those With Mental Illness — Part II"

"Why Mental Illnes Should be Understood From a Catholic Approach."

"Can a Mentally Ill Person Become a Saint?"

God Had Other Plans

Here is how God taught Benedict the way of dying to self and carrying the cross:

Benedict attempted to become a Carthusian Monk but after six weeks of intense physical and mental suffering, he was told, “You are not called to our way of life.” Compelled to try again, he was accepted into Our Lady of Sept-Fons Abbey, a Trappist Monastery in France where he became a novice monk, Brother Urban.

It was only six months later that Benedict Joseph suffered serious depression and distorted thinking. His delusion was that he was alone and that God had rejected him. Therefore, Benedict would not receive holy communion due to abnormal fear. 

Because of his mental condition and frail health, the abbot and the community feared for his sanity and told Benedict that God was not calling him to their order.

He Left Sept-Fons Abbey at the Age of 21

Broken hearted! His dreams shattered, our saint left Sept-Fons sick in body and mind. He began his pilgrimage; always praying and trusting that he would discover the austere life God was calling him to live. He did not know that by continually searching for his vocation, he was in fact fulfilling it. For God was to bestow on him a most unusual grace-filled life. 

He set out on foot to a lifetime of perpetual pilgrimages that took him to France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. He walked 20,000 miles in the next thirteen years. Our pilgrim at that time visited all of the shrines in Europe to honor God and His mother.

Benedict Joseph wrote his parents a letter for the last time, telling them of his disappointment and that he would not be returning home again. By placing a rosary around his neck “He declared to the world, that he belonged ONLY to Our Lady. He wore it till his death.

From that moment in his life on St. Benedict Joseph experienced miraculous healing. From this point in his life until his death, he committed himself totally to Jesus and Mary offering his whole human experience to God as an offering. He began traveling on pilgrimage to all of the churches and shrines spending time before the Blessed Sacrament.

Our patron recited the rosary in honor of Mary, every day, not in the common manner, but contemplating the mysteries profoundly. This was the gift which was given to Benedict for all of his presence in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It was at this time also that Benedict began to follow the Blessed Sacrament at the Forty Hours Devotions. They no sooner would end at one church and begin at another and Benedict would be seen present adoring his God.

How God Blessed Benedict Joseph

Because of St. Benedict Joseph’s love and adoration for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, God bestowed on him a precious gift which enlightened his mind and gave him a superior and unique knowledge of the Blessed Trinity.

The more Benedict prayed, the more he became enlightened; then all the more he was compelled to live continually in the presence of the Blessed Trinity. He was seen always bowed down before God dwelling within himself. He had to share this love and reverence of the Blessed Trinity with the world which was another reason for his pilgrimages.

Our patron saw the Holy Family as the perfect reflection of the Blessed Trinity on earth. Commanded by this love, he would make annual pilgrimages to the Holy House of Loreto, Italy. This is the home of the holy family, where the Mother of God and the wife of St. Joseph is venerated under the title of Our Lady of Loreto.

Our saint was seen by lay people and clergy in ecstacy before the Blessed Sacrament; his head bent back and arms outstreched, a position that defied weight and balance, He would kneel motionless for eighteen hours at a time. Benedict was seen levitating before the Blessed Sacrament, and even before ordinary pictures of Jesus and Mary.

But Benedict wanted no honor given to himself. He never spoke. Only when asked would he speak. In fact, most people did not even know him by name, so they called him “the poor man of the Forty Hours,” “the Lover of the Blessed Sacrament.” Looking back now at St. Benedict Joseph’s prophetic vision that took place at the Church where he died we can state and ponder that Jesus honored Benedict the way Benedict honored Jesus!

Upon his arrival in the eternal city, Rome, our ragged saint made his home among the homeless beggars in the massive ruins of the Colosseum. At that time, the Forty Hours devotion was held somewhere every day in Rome. Wherever you go to a Church in Rome, know that Benedict has been there before you. Benedict Joseph spent the greater part of every day and sometimes the whole day at the Forty Hours Devotion.

One of the Miracles Used for Benedict Joseph’s Canonization

Two years after Benedict Joseph’s death, in a Benedictine Monastery in Sicily, lay a dying nun named Sister Maria of the Crucifixion. The doctors gave up on her and told her, “Either go home or die!”. But sister said, “I prefer to lose my life in the house of God rather than to enjoy health at home.” 

Another sister who was close to Sister Marie was grieving for her who had been the chief chanter in the choir. She went before the Blessed Sacrament begging Our Lord with confidence, that by the merits of Benedict Joseph, He would restore the health and voice of Sister Maria.  

The next night, God sent from heaven Benedict Joseph Labre.

Sister Maria saw a pilgrim enter her room. She reported that He was so resplendent and beautiful that his rays lighted up everything like the sun. “Do you know who I am,” he said.

“I am Benedict Joseph Labre who died in Rome; God has sent me here to heal you! He gives you this gift because you prefer to die in his house, rather than be cured at home. God gives health to you by my means.”

Then, Benedict dipped his finger into a vessel which he was holding filled with fragrant oil. Blessed her in the sign of the cross saying,

“In the name of God and of the Most Holy Trinity, arise, You are cured! Tomorrow you will be present with the others to chant the Divine Office at the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and you shall sing the Eucharistic Hymn, Te Deum Laudamus in thanksgiving for the favor given to you!” .

All the time while Benedict Joseph was speaking, Sister Maria could not help but stare at the large precious jewel which had the emblem of the Trinity in its center hanging from our patron’s neck.

Benedict Joseph said to her, “This ornament which you admire on my breast has been given to me because of my devotion to the Most Holy Trinity which I adored and revered.”

Having said this, he disappeared and along with him every symptom of Sister Maria’s disease.

She immediately dressed and ran to the choir loft where the sisters were preparing to say the Office of the Dead for their dying sister. At the sight of Sister Maria, they were all filled with fear thinking she was a ghost. Once Maria explained everything, they immediately sang the Te Deum.

A Model for Us During Lent 2025

When Pope Leo XIII canonized St. Benedict Joseph Labre, he called him “holiness itself!” Now that we are experiencing another Lenten season, it is a perfect time to renew our baptismal promises. The Church reminds us to reflect on what does it mean to be holy. As followers of St. Benedict Joseph Labre, we have been given a special insight into the answer. He is our perfect model. He knew that God dwelled within his soul and he fell in love with Him. His prayer life and many sacrifices united his soul completely to God. St. Benedict’s love compelled him to imitate Christ’s virtues of patience, kindness and gentleness. The many pilgrimages he spent traveling on the road allowed him to become the Holy Wayfarer and to show his love to others.

We can also copy our patron and follow our own call to holiness. As we imitate his virtues, offer our own prayers and make sacrifices, we become like our saint. Seeing a family member suffer from mental illness can bring much pain and suffering; sometimes it can be very difficult living with them and even communicating with them.

This gives us a great opportunity to practice the virtues of St. Benedict Joseph. When we do, this will be on our road to holiness. Our Lenten goal for 2025 is to become “holy” like our St. Benedict Joseph. 

Reflection From a Pastor

There is no condition of life which the grace of God has not sanctified; this social misfit finally found his niche in heaven by not having one on earth. Let us learn from the life of St. Benedict Joseph Labre to remember that we are always in the presence of God, and particularly so when we are in church; for Jesus is really, truly, and substantially present in the Most Bless Sacrament of the Altar.

Source: 02.26.2004 AMDG, St. Benedict Joseph Labre (Mission Church), 501 Rte. 2; N. Hero, VT (The Church closed recently)

The Guild of St. Benedict Joseph Labre

Our mission is: We bring the healing love of Christ to our brothers and sisters who wear the "crown of thorns" of mental and emotional suffering; we are their prayerful spiritual support.

Come join us with thousands who pray and spiritually advocate to God for their well-being.

Timothy Duff is the co-founder of the guild and has spent over thirty years researching the life of St. Benedict Joseph Labre and has traveled abroad to do so.

Visit our website to learn more: www.Guildbjlabre.org

Timothy may be emailed at: guildbjlabre@gmail.com

 Read our related articles,

"A Saint For Those With Mental Illness — Part II"

"Why Mental Illnes Should be Understood From a Catholic Approach."

"Can a Mentally Ill Person Become a Saint?"