Introduction

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. St Patrick's Day isMarch 17.

St Patrick is traditionally associated with the Shamrock plant, which he used to explain the concept of the Trinity.

St Patrick's value doesn't really come from the historical details but from the inspiration of a man who returned to the country where he had been a child slave, in order to bring the message of Christ.

Facts in brief

• St Patrick really existed
• Taken to Ireland as a slave at age 16
• Escaped after 6 years
• Became a Christian priest, and later a Bishop
• Returned to Ireland as a missionary
• Played a major part in converting the Irish to Christianity
• Some of his writings survive, theConfessio and theLetter to Coroticus

Doubtful extra facts in brief

• Born in 387 AD in Scotland, in Kilpatrick
  • alternative sources suggest he was born at Banwen in Wales
• His original name was Maewyn Succat; he became Patrick when he became a bishop
• Studied in France at the monastery of St Martin's in Tours
• Went to Ireland in 432 AD
• Died either in 461 AD, or 493 AD (unlikely)
• Taught by Saint Germaine

Patrick's life

Patrick's early life

Patrick's family lived on a small estate near the village of Bannavem Taburniae. (This name cannot be placed on any current map of England or Wales.)

Although his father was a deacon, Patrick was not a believer:

Enslaved by pirates

In his teens, Patrick was captured by a gang of Irish pirates and taken as a slave to Ireland. Patrick came to believe that this was a punishment for his lack of faith.

He was put to work for six years herding sheep and pigs on Slemish mountain in County Antrim. While he was a shepherd, Patrick spent much of his time praying.

Escapes after six years

In an escape bid (while he was a captive in Ireland), Patrick stowed away on a boat bound for Britain, and it landed not far from where his parents lived.

Patrick decided to follow his vocation to become a priest, and after a dream he was inspired to return to Ireland.

Patrick spent several years studying before he felt ready to take up the life of a missionary.

Patrick's return to Ireland as a missionary

Patrick eventually returned to Ireland, as the country's second bishop, and brought the message of Christ to many people who had never heard it.

As a missionary Patrick baptised many thousands of people.

It was not an easy task. Patrick tells how his life was at risk, and how he was sometimes imprisoned by the local pagan chiefs. We know that Patrick sometimes made things easier by giving gifts to the chiefs.

Poignantly, Patrick also writes of his longing to leave Ireland.

But he knew his duty, and remained in Ireland.

Patrick had problems not only with himself, and the local pagans, but suffered from some backbiting by fellow clergy who accused him of seeking to win personal status.

The claim nearly broke his heart, but anyone who reads hisConfessio will soon realise that Patrick was the last person to think that he deserved any glory for himself.

Patrick's writings

Patrick's world

Patrick clearly perceived Ireland and Britain to be far apart, but he also perceived Britain and Gaul to be very close.

Seeing the world like that is as much a matter of theology as geography.

Jerusalem was believed to be the centre of the world and around Jerusalem were countries which were occupied by the Romans. On one particular far-flung corner was the island of Ireland - the last bastion of paganism (as Patrick saw it).

Patrick's education

Patrick not only knew the language of his British parents but studied and understood Latin. Just how much Latin would have been used in Ireland (so far away from Rome) by that time is uncertain, but in his own writing there is evidence that he was well read in both secular writing and the Scriptures.

And in addition to the language of his British parents, and the Latin he learned as a priest, Patrick would have had to speak Irish to communicate God's message to the people.

Patrick's mission

Patrick believed that when "every nation" had heard the gospel, Christ would then return, and it seems he believed that he was the person to bring this message of Christianity to the land that represented this "final hurdle" of God's plan.

Patrick's writings

In Ireland, probably towards the end of his life, Bishop Patrick wrote about his life and work in theConfessio.

He begins:

Myths about Patrick

Was Saint Patrick Irish?

No he wasn't; he was British. When he was a child, raiders from Ireland came and took him from Britain.

In Ireland, he was sold as a slave, and spent about six years tending sheep and pigs around Slemish (a mountain formed from the plug of an extinct volcano just outside Ballymena in what is now Co Antrim).

As a stowaway, he returned to his parents, but felt called by God to return to preach to the people of Ireland.

Did St Patrick bring Christianity to Ireland?

Probably not. There's good evidence that there were believers in Ireland before Patrick arrived.

Pope Celestine had sent Palladius to that part of the world years before.

Anyway, it would be unlikely that a country with such strong trading links with the Roman Empire would have remained untouched by Christianity.

Did St Patrick drive the snakes out of Ireland?

No he didn't, because it's unlikely there ever were any snakes in Ireland.

The snake may be a reference to serpent, a symbol of evil, and the driving out a reference to Patrick's mission to rid Ireland of pagan influence.

See also

• Religion and Ethics home
• Interfaith calendar
• Ethics guides

Around the BBC

• BBC - Audio slideshow: Croagh Patrick pilgrimage
• BBC Northern Ireland - Saint Patrick's Day
• BBC Radio 4 - The real patron saints
• BBC News - Annual Saint Patrick pilgrimage