I first came across this term while studying the case of Audrey Santo, the three year old who fell into a coma after a near-drowning accident. A victim soul is a soul that willingly suffers, or takes on the sympathetic suffering of Christ, in order to save the souls of this world.  In Audrey's case, the family claims that while in the coma, the three year old Audrey willingly took this role on.  Audrey 'lived' to the age of 23.  Other cases have people inflicting pain on themselves (think the monk in the DaVinci Code) or finding a way to be happy through suffering, the 'silent suffering', or the 'happy cripple'. 

I am interested in the thoughts of others on this, especially of those who believe in the idea of the victim soul.