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St. Patrick
St. Patrick, the Irish Legend Armed with only courage and conviction, Patrick's unwavering belief that good conquers evil liberated Ireland and altered the course of history.
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n March 17, 1737, the Charitable Irish Society
of Boston held the city's first St. Patrick's Day celebration. Since then
St. Patrick's Day celebrations across the United States have been full
of leprechauns, the wearing of the green, and the celebration of all things
Irish. In all the fun and frolic, the true Patrick, who probably died
on March 17, 465, is often forgotten.
Patrick was possibly born about 372 A.D. near present day Glasgow, Scotland.
His parents, Calpurniun and Conchessa, were leaders of the Christian community
in their village of Bonavern. Patrick did not take the Christianity of
his parents seriously and enjoyed having fun with his friends. One day,
when he was playing near the sea, some Irish pirates took him captive
and Patrick was sold into slavery to an Irish chieftain. His job? to care
for the chieftain's pigs! Alone in the fields with the pigs, Patrick remembered
the Christianity of his parents, and he accepted it as his own.
He later wrote,
I was sixteen years old and knew not the true God; but in that strange
land the Lord opened my unbelieving eyes, and although late I called
my sins to mind, and was converted with my whole heart to the Lord my
God, who regarded my estate, had pity on my youth and ignorance, and
consoled me as a father consoles his children...The love of God increased
more and more in me with faith and the fear of His name. The Spirit
urged me to such a degree that I poured forth as many as a hundred prayers
in one day. And even during the night, in the forests and on the mountains
where I kept my flock, the rain, and snow, and suffering which I endured,
excited me to seek after God...
When Patrick managed to escape from slavery and returned to his family,
his heart longed to return to his Irish captors and share with them the
gospel of Jesus Christ. He returned to Ireland and called the pagan tribes
to listen to the story of Jesus in the Irish language he had learned while
a slave. In the ninth century, legends and myths began to develop around
Patrick, and he became canonized as the patron saint of Ireland.
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