Saint Patrick

Now nearing the end of March, it is almost impossible to say you have not encountered any of these sights: shamrocks, leprechauns, people dressed in all green, and lines streaming out of pubs. Of course these are the signs that Saint Patrick’s Day has returned in all its rowdy glory for another year. If you are Irish or have any Irish heritage, it is a nice time to appreciate your history, and if you’re not, you can have fun celebrating a rich culture with your friends. However, in the midst of all these festivities, the namesake of the holiday can often go forgotten by the masses.

Some people will be amazed to learn that Saint Patrick is a very real historical figure. In fact, we have two accounts which historians are quite ready to attest as authentically written by Patrick himself. It is enough to make one wonder how much they really know about the Great Bishop of Ireland. Fortunately for us, one of Patrick’s two writings is his own life story, his Confessio.

Patrick begins his Confessio with a powerful line: “My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers.” He then describes that he was taken into captivity at about the age of sixteen where he worked as a slave tending to sheep. He grew in his faith in his captivity. He says that his faith before his enslavement was lost and that he did not listen to his priests. Yet, in Ireland he prayed one hundred times a day. Six years later, in a dream, Patrick was told that there was a ship to take him back to his homeland and he ran away.

Once home, Patrick answered his vocation and eventually became a bishop. In another dream, he heard the people of Ireland calling out to him. He chose to go back to the land of his captors to spread the gospel to them. In his Confessio, he expresses his gratitude to God that the people of Ireland were receiving the Gospel and that so many were converting.

His other writing, Epistola, is a letter to the soldiers of Coroticus, in which he expresses his anger at Coroticus and his men for kidnapping the Christians of Ireland. Outside of these two writings, we have many legends surrounding Saint Patrick. There are famous ones, such as his preaching on the Holy Trinity through the use of a shamrock and his driving the snakes from Ireland. There are also some less famous ones, many of which are of his magnificent battles with the druids of Ireland.

With all of these accounts in mind, one must remember that Saint Patrick was a true figure who spread the Gospel in Ireland as an example of incredibly strong faith, powerful enough to make a man return to his place of captivity and save his captors. If you have any Irish heritage, consider going to Mass on Saint Patrick’s day to show gratitude for the man to whom you owe your faith. He is the reason for the holiday.