Every March 17, people all around the United States celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Politicians march in parades and friends, Irish or not, gather for parties. They wear bright green clothes and funny hats; drink green beer and Irish Whiskey; eat corned beef and cabbage. They sing songs of "the old country" and tell tales about the Wee Folk.
BUT just who was this Saint Patrick and why is he important to us as Catholic Christians?
St. Patrick was a bishop and missionary.His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon and his grandfather a priest, (At this time there was no strict law of celibacy for Christian clergy). Patrick's own full name was probably Patricius Magonus Sucatus.
When he was 16, Patrick and some others were seized and carried off by sea raiders to become slaves among the inhabitants of Ireland. He wrote in his "Confession" that at this time he still "knew not the true God." But now as a herdsman for his Irish master, Patrick turned to religion. He tells us himself that "constantly I used to pray in the daytime. Love of God and His fear increased more and more, and my faith grew and my spirit was stirred up, so that in a single day I said as many as a hundred prayers and at night nearly as many, and I used to stay out in the woods and on the mountain. Before the dawn I used to wake up to prayer, in snow and frost and rain, nor was there any such lukewarmness in me as now I feel, because then my spirit was fervent within."
After 6 years of labor as a shepherd, Patrick, prompted by a voice in his sleep, escaped to the European continent, probably Gaul . He returned to Britain at the age of 22 determined to convert the Irish to Christianity. This goal led him to Gaul where he studied , was ordained to the deaconate and spent 15 years in the church of Auxerre . Patrick's later prestige and authority indicate that he was prepared for his task with great thoroughness.
At this time a heresy "Pelagianism" was spreading among the weak and scattered Christian communities of Britain and Ireland. Pope Celestine I had sent Bishop Palladius there to combat it. This missionary was killed among the Scots in North Britain, Patrick was recommended to replace him. Patrick was consecrated in 432, and left for Ireland.
Biographers vary as to Patrick's routes through Ireland. There is historical basis for the tradition of Patrick's preliminary stay in Ulster, and his founding of a monastic center there. It was at this time that he set out to earn the support of the powerful pagan King Laeghaire, who was holding court at Tara. The outcome was royal toleration for his preaching. The text of the Senchus More, the old Irish code of laws, mentions an understanding reached at Tara. Patrick was allowed to preach to the gathering, "and when they saw Laeghaire with his Druids overcome by the great signs and miracles wrought in the presence of the men of Erin, they bowed down in obedience to God and Patrick."
King Laeghaire seems not to have become a Christian, but his chief bard and his two daughters were converted, as was a brother, who is believed to have given his estate to Patrick for the founding of a church. From this time on, Patrick's apostolate, though carried on amid hardships and often at great risk, was favored by many powerful chieftains. The Druids, by and large, opposed him, for they felt their own power and position threatened. They subjected Patrick to imprisonment many times, but he always managed to escape. Although opposed by priests of the indigenous religion, Patrick secured toleration for Christians and, through active preaching,
St. Patrick wrote of his love for the Irish people and his fervent desire for them to know our Lord in his "Confession": "It was not any grace in me, but God who conquereth in me, and He resisted them all, so that I came to the heathen of Ireland to preach the Gospel and to bear insults from unbelievers, to hear the reproach of my going abroad and to endure many persecutions even unto bonds, the while that I was surrendering my liberty as a man of free condition for the profit of others. And if I should be found worthy, I am ready to give even my life for His name's sake unfalteringly and gladly, and there (in Ireland) I desire to spend it until I die, if our Lord should grant it to me."
About the year 442, tradition tells us, Patrick went to Rome and met Pope Leo the Great, who, it seemed, took special interest in the Irish Church. The time had now come for a definite organization According to the annals of Ulster, the cathedral church of Armagh was founded as the primatial see of Ireland on Patrick's return. He brought back with him valuable relics. Latin was established as the language of the Irish Church.
The story of his forty-day fasting and praying on Croagh. when Patrick was granted many privileges by God is also associated with the end of his life. Patrick's marvelous harvest filled him with gratitude. During an apostolate of thirty years he is reported to have consecrated some 350 bishops, and was instrumental in bringing the faith to many thousands. He developed a native clergy, fostered the growth of monasticism, established dioceses and held church councils.
Patrick died about 461, and was buried near the fortress of Saul, in the vicinity of the future cathedral town of Down. He was intensely spiritual, a magnetic personality with great gifts for action and organization. He brought Ireland into much closer contact with Europe, especially with the Holy See. Patrick's doctrine is considered orthodox. Several of his writings, including his “Confession” and several letters still remain. The building up of the weak Christian communities which he found on arrival and planting the faith in new regions give him his place as the patron of Ireland. His feast day is one of festivity, and widely observed. Patrick's emblems are a serpent, demons, cross, shamrock, harp, and baptismal font.
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Sources:
Lexicon Universal Encyclopedia
