St. Patrick
Apostle of Ireland
Carried off as a slave at sixteen, he escaped — and then went back of his own free will to bring the faith to the people who had taken him.
- Feast
- March 17
- Lived
- Fifth century, died c. AD 461
Invoked For
- Ireland
- Nigeria
- Engineers
- Against snakes
His Life
Patrick was not Irish. He was born in Roman Britain, the son of a deacon and grandson of a priest, and by his own admission he was not much of a believer as a boy. At about sixteen he was seized by raiders and carried to Ireland as a slave.
He spent six years there herding animals in the cold and the wet, and it was in that misery that he began to pray — his own Confession says he prayed a hundred times a day and as often in the night. Then a voice in a dream told him his ship was ready. He walked two hundred miles to the coast, found passage, and after further hardship made his way home.
He might have stayed. Instead he had another dream, of the Irish calling out to him: "Come and walk among us once more." He studied, was ordained, and was sent back as bishop to the country of his captivity.
His mission met resistance from kings and druids, and he was beaten, robbed, and put in chains more than once. But he baptized many thousands, ordained clergy, and established the Church across the island, working from the north. Two of his own writings survive — the Confession, and a furious letter protesting the massacre and enslavement of his converts by a British warlord.
The Path to Sainthood
St. Patrick was never formally canonized; he belongs to the age before the process existed, and was acclaimed a saint by the people he converted and by the Church that grew from his work.
His feast on March 17 is held to be the day of his death. It is kept as a solemnity in Ireland and celebrated by the Irish and their descendants throughout the world.
The shamrock is attached to him by a later tradition, in which he plucked one to explain how three could be one. The story of his driving the snakes from Ireland is legend — but the legend carries a truth, since he drove out what the snake has always stood for.
Prayers to St. Patrick
Tap any prayer to open it large and clear — set for reading aloud. Close it to return here and choose another.