Patron Saint of Ireland born in the 5th Century in South Wales. Brought Christianity to Ireland.
When he was 16 yrs.old he was kidnapped, taken to Ireland, used as a slave and put to work as a shepherd. His Christian upbringing helped him endure many hardships for the next 6 yrs, when he escaped to France, to a small island off the south coast, known as St. Honorat. He then went to a monastery in Auxerre in central France.
During his time away there, he had a calling to go back to Ireland to spread the gospel. His courage and faith so impressed even the Irish king, “Loganaire”, that he gave him protection.
St. Patrick was said to have used the shamrock to spread the gospel. Being a three-leafed symbol to represent the Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost) Christianity was there before he arrived, but was not wide spread until then.
He introduced Latin as the church language in Ireland and in so doing, helped build an interest of the Classics. He also wrote, in Latin, 2 short works giving an account of his life, e.g. the “Confessio” an autobiography of his Christian life, and the “Epistola” an account of the treatment of the Irish Christian peoples by the British.
There is also another interesting story of St.Patrick. He was supposed to have taken all the snakes in Ireland and put them in a box and threw them into the sea. This being the reason there are no snakes in Ireland, and when the sea rages, it is because the snakes are rumbling about in their box and trying to get out.
St. Patrick’s day is celebrated on the 17th.March each year on the anniversary of his death.
Most American cities have their own St. Patrick's Day celebrations but it is a day of unity and joy the world over.
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