Scottish Catholic Observer

MENTAL illness is described by some as an ‘invisible illness,’ and one that is a vital aspect of our overall health and wellbeing. Yet despite one in four people experiencing mental ill-health at some point in their lifetime, it remains a subject that is all too often plagued by discrimination, ignorance and fear.

With this in mind, it has been the impetus behind a new series of devotions to St Benedict Joseph Labre at Our Lady of Good Aid Cathedral in Motherwell, led by Fr Martin Delaney, assistant priest at the cathedral.

Having first heard of St Benedict Joseph Labre while he was a seminarian living in Rome, Fr Delaney was surprised that the saint wasn’t better known, and only found out afterwards, having visited the saint’s shrine at the church of Santa Maria ai Monti, that he was the patron saint of mental illness.

Returning back home to Scotland after being ordained as a priest, he ‘became more and more conscious of how big an issue mental health and mental ill health was for people,’ and the idea was planted to try at some point to foster a devotion in parishioners to St Benedict Joseph Labre.

The little-known 18th century saint hailed from France, and spent the majority of his life roaming Europe to visit various pilgrimage sites after being rejected from several religious orders.

Relying on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter, he spent his last years living in the ruins of Rome’s Colosseum before dying of malnutrition at the age of 35.

Upon his death a large following of the Quarant’ Ore, or Saint of the 40 Hours, grew, and noted a reported 136 cures attributed to his intercession within just three months of his passing.

The remarkable saint with the delicate disposition, rejected by so many and mocked often for his nature, is recognised today as the patron saint of mental illness.

As one who so frequently bore the consequences of negative stigmatisation, it perhaps makes for something to which those dealing with episodes of poor mental health can somewhat relate.

Despite the increasingly improved awareness of mental health issues in recent years, stigma around the problem still remains somewhat prevalent. This stigma was part of the reason Fr Delaney and the Mission and Evangelisation team decided to host the devotions to St Benedict Joseph.

“I think mental health is such a big issue but you’re not really able to talk about it in the same way,” Fr Delaney said. “I suppose an issue is that people weren’t really talking about it a lot of the time because there’s such a big stigma attached to it. I think it’s important always to remember that with mental health, it’s not really any different from physical health.”

Following a meeting with the Mission and Evangelisation team, the group discussed some of the real and pressing issues affecting those in the community in order to decide how best to reach out to those in need, resulting in Fr Delaney’s idea from several years previous becoming a reality.

It is one that he hopes will tackle some of the issues people have in discussing mental illness and showing their support.

“I think if you bring people together and maybe give them the opportunity to pray like that, you’re breaking down maybe something of the stigma even just by providing the opportunity,” Fr Delaney explained. “People can come together and pray, and it might also be an opportunity for a more kind of social aspect to it as well, that kind of face-to-face contact and people coming together, just knowing that there’s a support and acknowledgement of the issue.”

The cathedral hosted the first of its nine-week long novena to St Benedict Joseph Labre on Thursday October 13, and will finish up on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (the date of the saint’s canonisation), which will take place within the Thursday evening Mass at 7pm.

This will mark an original way to bring the topic of mental illness into the public conversation, all the while offering up our prayers to God and asking him to help with these issues.

“I think it’s a really important thing for people, no matter what the tension is, that they have particular saints that they go to for particular needs.

“I think the reason for this particular devotion is because it’s identifying that this is a real area of need, and maybe one that isn’t at the top of the agenda,” Fr Delaney said. “You see the resources in the area of mental health being cut all the time. It’s just recognising that there is a real need that exists in our society.

“Maybe the most important need is just to raise awareness of the issue itself, but it’s also about the Church and having devotions, it’s also about prayer.

“We want to bring awareness to these issues, and bring them to God, therefore inviting God into that reality of our life. It’s just another support and a way also of bringing God into the equation.

“He cares; He’s part of people’s lives,” Fr Delaney added. “God cares about us and wants to be interested and involved, so it’s just trying to invite him into that place in our life.”

The devotions come as a welcome approach to further tackling the breakdown of stigma, and making mental ill-health an issue that we can all discuss and seek help for in our society, freely and without judgment.