Our Patron:

St. Patrick

St. Patrick
The humble patron of the Emerald Isle
 

"My name is Patrick. I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many."

These words open the Confession of St. Patrick, the powerful, first-person account of a man who went from enslavement to being the first bishop of Armagh and the Primate of Ireland. The efforts of this humble man are credited for converting the Emerald Isle from a Celtic paganism to the Christian beliefs that became so strongly engrained in the Irish people.

Born and living in the fourth or fifth centuries, Patrick was both a Roman and a Briton. At around the age of sixteen, he was captured and sold as a slave in Ireland, working the long, hard hours of a shepherd in the Irish fields. After several years, Patrick escaped this captivity and went on to study and experience a powerful spiritual conversion.

Having found a new life and calling, he was ordained a priest, later consecrated as a bishop at the age of 43, and then came to feel a desire to return to the land of his captivity and work as a missionary to the people of Ireland who he believed were in need of the good news of Jesus Christ.

While many specifics of St. Patrick’s life are known more through tradition and tale than certain fact, it is clear that his efforts in Ireland led to the spread of the faith, the founding of dioceses, the building of monasteries, many ordinations, and a newfound holiness among the people.

This work and his legacy were certainly revered, as by the seventh century, he was already recognized as the patron saint of Ireland. St. Patrick’s feast day is celebrated each year on March 17th, the date traditionally recognized as the day he died. For the Irish and all those who name this man are their patron, it is a solemn and holy day, recognizing his courage, his humility, and his desire to bring faith to all those who needed it.
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St. Patrick, pray for us.