About Christina Mirabilis:
in present-day Belgium, Christina Mirabilis was orphaned as a teenager and worked as a shepherdess.
Then, sometime in her early 20s, she suffered from a massive seizure. When the episode passed, she was found lying on the ground completely limp. Unable to see breathing or hear a heartbeat, those with her pronounced dead.
Soon after, a funeral was held at her local parish. During her funeral Mass in Sint-Truiden, she suddenly stood up in the open casket and levitated up to the rafters of the church (explaining that she “could not bear the smell of the sinful people there”. The priest continued celebrating Mass while most of those in attendance fled in terror. She subsequently lived a long life, dying at the age of seventy-four.
She later announced that during the time she was unconscious due to the seizure, God showed her purgatory and offered her a choice of going to heaven or accepting severe penances on earth in reparation for sinners. She chose the latter, and endured many sufferings, including being accused of insanity.
She lived an extreme ascetic life—throwing herself into fires, freezing rivers, enduring abuse, and other penances—while showing obedience to religious authorities later in life. She died naturally at age ~74 in the Dominican Convent of St. Catherine in Sint-Truiden.
Around the time in history the Church was still forming the modern canonization process, and so she’s never been been formally canonized. She was placed in the calendar of the saints by at least two bishops of the Catholic Church in two different centuries (17th & 19th) that also recognized her life in a religious order and preservation of her relics. There remains a strong devotion to her in her native region of Limburg. Prayers are traditionally said to Christina to seek her intercession for millers, for those suffering from mental illness, and for mental health workers.Nonetheless, she was popularly considered a saint for centuries after her death. Christina Mirabilis is patron saint of psychiatrists, psychologists and those suffering mental illness.
There is no single large, famous basilica-style shrine dedicated solely to her, but strong local devotion exists in the Sint-Truiden area. After her death, her body was initially buried at St. Catherine’s. In 1231, her body was translated (moved) to Nonnemielen/Mielen, north of Sint-Truiden). There, her coffin reportedly emitted the “odor of sanctity” (a sweet fragrance) when opened, a sign of holiness in medieval tradition. The site later became an abbey (now the location of Kasteel van Nonnen-Mielen).
Devotion centers on local churches, particularly the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady) in Sint-Truiden, which has artworks, a statue, and references to her. There is also a new statue by Johan Creten and commemorative sites in Brustem (her birthplace) and along pilgrimage routes.
Via Christina Mirabilis is a 62 mile (100 km) pilgrimage walking route in Haspengouw (the region around Sint-Truiden) that traces her life from Brustem through Wellen, Borgloon, and back via Zepperen. It passes historic churches, chapels (including sites linked to her story) as well as the former NonnenMielen area, and cultural spots.
The feast day of Christina Mirablis is traditionally. She remains a figure of fascination for her miracles and is sometimes invoked or referenced in art, literature, and music (e.g., a Nick Cave song).