Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. His feast is celebrated on March 17 each year and parades are held on that day all over the world. There are many known facts about the man, but there are even more myths and legends that have accumulated over the years. In general, the Irish are a superstitious people and while we know that most of these myths are not true, it will be hard to find anyone in Ireland who would openly deny that this is the case.
Who is Saint Patrick?
I’ll start with the facts we know. In reality, she was born in Scotland and was also known to have wealthy parents named Calpurnius and Conchessa, who were Roman. Nothing is clear from the history of the exact year he was born, but it is estimated to be around AD 385. Between the ages of fourteen and sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who took him to Ireland, where he spent six years. as a slave in captivity. The precise location is not recorded, but many claim that he is on Mount Slemish, near Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is also known that he worked as a shepherd.
He escaped when he was around 22-23 years of age. After that and according to his own documented writing, God spoke to him in a dream and told him that he had to leave Ireland and then when he returned to Britain he had a second dream in which he was going to return to Ireland as a missionary. Saint Patrick began his religious training, which lasted for more than fifteen years. He was ordained a priest by Saint Germanus and then sent back to Ireland with the task of ministering to the few Christians already in Ireland and beginning to convert the Irish to Christianity. Later he was appointed bishop.
Ireland at the time was a country filled with pagan beliefs and strong fixed cultures. Patrick would have been aware of this and would also be fluent in the Irish language. Rather than fight it, he incorporated his Christian teachings with his ancient beliefs. An example of this was the creation of the Celtic Cross where he added the sun in the center of the standard Christian cross. He also used the growing common clover to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity. The three leaves of it represented God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. A classic myth is that he drove snakes out of Ireland, but the reality is that they never existed in Ireland in the first place. All I can tell you is that there are no snakes in Ireland, so read what you want.
Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17 and is believed to be the date of his death, although, again, this is not officially recorded anywhere. Historians believe that he died at Saul, which is near Downpatrick in Northern Ireland, around the year 461.