Who is St. Patrick Anyway?

St. Patrick lived about 389-461A.D., and is the patron saint of Ireland . He was chiefly responsible for converting the Irish people to Christianity.

Patrick was born in Britain . His father was a wealthy alderman and a Christian. When Patrick was 16 years old, pirates captured him during a raid and sold him as a slave in Ireland . During his captivity he was a shepherd, and dedicated himself to religion. After 6 years of slavery, he escaped and returned home to Britain . As a result of his experiences in Ireland , Patrick became driven by the idea of converting the Irish to Christianity.

Patrick preached Christianity in parts of Ireland where no one had ever preached Christianity. He gained the trust and friendship of several tribal leaders and soon made many converts. He brought clergymen from England and France for his new churches. Patrick preached in Ireland for the rest of his life. Despite a constant threat to his life, Patrick traveled widely, baptizing, confirming, preaching, and building churches and monasteries. He is said to have founded more than 300 churches and baptized more than 120,000 people. Patrick succeeded in converting almost the entire population of the island to Christianity.

Legends about St. Patrick:

Many of the stories about Patrick are based only on legends.

One of the best known tales tells how he charmed the snakes of Ireland into the sea so that they drowned. While it is true there are no snakes in Ireland , chances are that there never have been snakes since the time the island was separated from the rest of the continent at the end of the ice age. As in many old pagan religions, serpent symbols were common, and possibly even worshipped. Driving the snakes from Ireland was most likely symbolic of putting an end to that pagan practice.

According to another tale, Patrick used a three-leaf shamrock to illustrate the idea of the Trinity. Many people believe the shamrock came to be the traditional symbol of Ireland as a result of this legend. His feast day, March 17, which also marks the anniversary of his death, is celebrated as a national holiday in Ireland.