Saint Peter Damian was an 11th-century Benedictine monk and cardinal. He was known for his rigorous ascetic practices.

Nowadays, Saint Peter Damian is commonly known as a Doctor of the Church, but did you know that intercession is thought to aid in a common modern-day problem?

Saint Peter Damian is the patron saint of sleep difficulties!

For those struggling with sleeplessness, he can be a source of comfort, as he is familiar with the trials of insomnia. He is also versed in maintaining interior peace amid times of inner restlessness.

How did Saint Peter Damian become the patron saint of insomnia and other sleep issues?

Although he has not been named the official patron of sleep difficulties (there is not one), his intercession is allegedly sought based on two factors.

First, legend says this powerful saint spent so many hours deep in prayerful thought while working on his studies, that he was left with very little time to sleep. It became a sort of penance for him.

Other stories tell of his workaholic lifestyle leading to insomnia. It is also thought that Saint Peter Damian earned this unofficial title based on his writings regarding the importance of rest in developing a spiritual life.

Here is a prayer for the intercession of Saint Peter Damian:

𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘢𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.

𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘹𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘚𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴!

Source: Fear Not