St. Christina the Astonishing

St. Christina of Bolsena (1150-1224) was born to a peasant family in Belgium and was orphaned as a child. She was raised by her two older sisters. When she was 21 she had what was believed to be such a severe seizure that she was pronounced dead. At her funeral she revived and levitated before the astonished congregation. She said that during her coma she had been to heaven, hell, and purgatory and had been given the option to either die and enter heaven, or return to earth to suffer and pray for the holy souls in purgatory. Christina chose the greater act of charity. From then on she lived in extreme poverty, only wearing rags, sleeping on rocks, and begging for her food.

She is called "Christina the Astonishing" because she did the most unusual things and suffered the pains of inhuman feats, but was never seriously harmed by them. She would climb trees to escape the strong scent of sin in those she met; she would roll in fire and hide in ovens; she would stand in freezing water for hours in the dead of winter; she allowed herself to be dragged under water by a mill wheel; she spent much time in graveyards.

Many thought her to be possessed or insane, but many devout people vouched for her sincerity. They believed that she was a living witness to the pains that souls experience in purgatory and was suffering with them and for them. 

Christina the Astonishing is the patron of those with mental illness and disorders, mental health workers, psychiatrists, and therapists.

Her feast day is July 24th.