Saint of the Week: Patrick
3/19/2025
Patrick
Patrick was born into a Christian family on the west coast of Britain in one of two places—Ravenglass, Cumbria or Banwen, Wales—circa 390. His grandfather was a Christian priest and his father, Calpornius, was both a high official in the late Roman imperial government and a church deacon. When Patrick was about 16, Irish slave-raiders captured him and forced him to serve as a shepherd in Ireland. Five years later, he escaped to Britain and was there educated as a Christian. Ordained as a priest, a vision convinced him to return to Ireland. He did so around 431 A.D. We think Patrick landed in County Wycklow, near today’s Downpatrick, not far from where he first arrived as a slave. From there, he embarked on a remarkable missionary campaign, converting pagans throughout the country that ended only with his death in 461 A.D. He often made his appeals to local kings and through them to their tribes. Christianizing the old pagan religion as he went, Patrick erected Christian churches over sites already regarded as sacred, had crosses carved on Druid pillars, and declared sacred wells and springs under the protection of Christian saints. Legends of Patrick’s Irish missionary travels possess degrees of truth, especially those recounting his conversion of three major Irish High Kings. At Armagh, he established his main church--it is regarded as the primatial see of all Ireland today. But his position as a foreigner in Ireland placed him ever in jeopardy. He refused to accept gifts from kings. This placed him outside normal ties of kinship or affinity, so he essentially operated without “legal” protection. Historian Liam Paor says that on one mission Patrick was beaten, robbed of all he had, and put in chains, facing a possible death. Years later, he was again detained yet a second time for about 60 days. Two works exist for which Patrick is believed to be the author: his autobiographical Confession and a Letter to Coroticus, a British chieftain which contains The Lorica or St. Patrick’s Breastplate that captures the essence of his faith and zeal. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland," he is, along with Brigid of Kildare and Columba, one of the patron saints of Ireland.
