On the life and legacy, faith and glories of Saint Patrick

John F. Kennedy was the first sitting American president to visit Ireland. He arrived there to much fanfare in June of 1963. At the City Hall in Cork he said: “Most countries send out oil or iron, steel or gold or some other crop, but Ireland has had only one export and that is its people.”

The large Irish diaspora spread across the globe as the result of a poverty and hunger caused by centuries of English occupation, have always maintained a special place in their hearts for their ancestral homeland.

This is why every March 17^th, there are celebrations of the greatest Irishman in history not just in Dublin, Belfast, and Cork, but throughout the world.

St. Patrick the missionary

However, many of those enjoying the revelry would be surprised to know that Saint Patrick wasn’t even born in Ireland.

In AD 43, the Roman emperor Claudius launched an invasion of the British isle that eventually won control over much of present-day England and Wales. Although the army pressed into northern Britain in what is modern-day Scotland, occupation of this territory proved too costly. The Emperor Hadrian’s famous wall was begun to be built in 122 to serve as the northern border of the Roman province of Brittania.

As Christianity spread throughout the empire, it came to Britain as well. In 304, Saint Alban was the first Christian martyred there. With the conversion of the emperor Constantine a decade later, the Church was able to function publicly and establish itself more institutionally with a hierarchy.

This is the world St. Patrick was born into in the closing years of the fourth century. He was raised in a Christian family in a village named Bannaventa Taberniae, the exact location of which is unknown. Saint Muirchu, St. Patrick’s earliest biographer, indicates that it was near the Irish channel on the west coast of Britain. His grandfather, Potius, was a priest, and his father, Calporinus, a deacon. These were the days before celibacy was mandated for clerics of the Western Church.

The family belonged to a landowning aristocracy known as decurions—the men of the family held an honored place in society and were responsible for collecting imperial taxes.

Those who joined the clergy often joined simply to be exempt from the heavy tax burden on wealthy Romans in the late empire. In his Confession, St. Patrick writes that his youth was “a time when I had no real knowledge of God.”¹

Roman Britain was constantly threatened by the Picts to the north, the Irish celts along its western shores, and the Saxons to the south and east across the North Sea who would eventually topple the Roman civilization of the island.

In St. Patrick’s childhood, the western Roman Empire was collapsing. The Visigoth king Alaric sacked Rome, sending shockwaves throughout the empire. Rome’s weakness in the west was now fully revealed and its fall seemed inevitable.

In the midst of this tumult, soldiers were recalled from Britain leaving the province there more vulnerable. At the age of 16, St. Patrick’s town was raided by Irish pirates and he was one of the many captured and brought across the Irish Sea to toil away in this foreign land as a slave.

Only Ireland, on the outer fringe of western Europe, was left unconquered by the Romans. The weather was too rough (the Romans referred to the island as “Hibernia, Land of Winter”), and its Celtic warriors too fierce, to make a military expedition there worth it. The Roman Empire was the organizing principle that allowed for the flourishing of art, literature, technology, law, language and religion. lying beyond Rome’s boundaries, Ireland was considered a land of barbarians. Patrick must have been terrified as he was taken across the sea.

He was a slave in Ireland to the same master for six years. Tradition places the location of his captivity on Slemish Mountain in County Antrim, though the details Patrick provides in his Confession place the location much further west. Each year on St. Patrick’s Day nevertheless, large crowds of pilgrims hike to the top Slemish Mountain as an act of devotion.

During this time, he learned the language and culture of the Irish people and most importantly, embraced the Christian faith of his baptism. He writes in his Confession:

But it was here in Ireland that God first opened my heart, so that—even though it was a late start—I became aware of my failure and began to turn with my whole heart to the Lord my God…

After I came to Ireland I watched over sheep. Day by day I began to pray more frequently—and more and more my love for God and my faith in him and reverence for him began to increase. My spirit was growing, so that each day I would say a hundred prayers and almost as many each night…²

One night while sleeping, St. Patrick heard a voice bidding him to the port indicating that a ship would be there to take him home. Trusting in God he made his escape and had to traverse two hundred miles to make it to the eastern shore of Ireland where he was able, after so many years, to return to his family in Britain. St. Patrick’s family was overjoyed and begged him to never leave them again.

At some point after his return, the mystic had yet another message from God that came to him while sleeping. He heard the “Vox Hiberniae, Voice of the Irish” calling out to him: “We beg you, holy boy, come here and walk among us!”³

St. Patrick’s parents must have been shocked to learn of his desire to study for the priesthood in order to return among the Irish as a missionary. Vocations come from God, however. Blessed are those who hear the voice of the Lord and have the courage to follow it (Lk 11:28).

Little is known of the roughly 25 years that passed from St. Patrick’s escape and return to Ireland. He makes no mention in his Confession of where he studied and was ordained a priest and bishop. There were no seminaries at the time. He could have remained in Britain and studied under a local bishop. One of the early medieval sayings attributed to Patrick states that he journeyed through Gaul, Italy and the Tyrrhenian Sea, though no mention of this is made in his own writings. The Tyrrhenian Sea lies along the Mediterranean coast of Gaul and Italy, so it has been speculated that he would have studied at the great monastery of Lérins on an island off the coast southeastern Gaul. Many leaders of the fifth century Church studied at this famed monastery. Other stories say St. Patrick studied with St. Germanus at Auxerre, who was a prominent bishop in central Gaul known for having traveled to Britain to combat the heresy of Pelagianism.⁴

St. Patrick lore

Today, St. Patrick’s is credited for converting the entire Irish people from paganism. This, however, is not quite the case as there were at least some pockets of Christianity in Ireland before his arrival there. Even more surprising for many to learn is that St. Patrick was not even the first bishop sent to evangelize the Emerald Isle.

Christianity arrived on the shores of Ireland  in the late fourth century, probably through the trading links that existed with Britain and Gaul. British captives seized by Irish raiders are another possible means for the arrival of Christianity on the island, as in the famous case of St. Patrick himself. It is important to note that the regions of Ireland’s southeast coast in Munster venerate four pre-Patrician saints springing from their early Christian communities—Ailbe, Declán, Ibar and Ciarán.

The Christian community in Ireland was large enough to gain the attention of the pope in Rome. A papal confidant named Prosper from southern Gaul is one of the best sources for events in the fifth century. He records in 431 that: “Pope Celestine ordained Palladius and sent him to the Irish believers as their first bishop.”⁵

St. Palladius’ mission did not succeed, however. After only a year he was banished by the King of Leinster and spent the remainder of his life as bishop of a Christian community of Scotts in northern Britain.

Exact dates for St. Patrick’s life and mission are not clear, but he probably began his labors for the soul of Ireland immediately after St. Palladius in 432, until his death around 460.

We can surmise that St. Patrick was more successful than St. Palladius because he understood the people, language, and customs of Ireland from his time in captivity there as a youth.

St. Patrick did what the Roman generals could not; he conquered Ireland. He did so, of course, not by the sword. As St. Paul says, “For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor 10:3-4).

There was a close affinity between the Christian faith and traditional Irish spirituality. The fit was so natural that there were no martyrdoms as Christianity spread throughout the land.

Popular belief holds that St. Patrick converted the island by his preaching and miracles. He drove out snakes, entered contests to the death with the druids, and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. Tradition attributes to him the founding of 700 churches, and the ordination of 370 bishops and 5,000 priests. To this day Ireland has 26 Catholic dioceses which is seemingly too many for its small population. This anomaly has its origins from St. Patrick’s time. To best inculcate the gospel among the Irish people it was determined that each tribe had to have its own bishop.⁶

After ten years in Ireland, he was able to establish the Church’s hierarchy ensuring the unity of the many newly established churches and monastic foundations led by native Irish clergy. Such progress was made in St. Patrick’s own lifetime that Rome raised Ireland to the status of an ecclesiastical province. He was made its Metropolitan with his seat at “Ard Macha, the Height of Macha” from which Armagh gets its name. Before St. Patrick’s death at Saul—where he established his first church in Ireland and where he retired—he saw a native Irish bishop, St. Benignus, whom he baptized and trained since childhood, become his successor as the Metropolitan of Armagh.⁷

Perhaps the two most famous stories from his life are the lighting of the paschal fire at Tara and the baptism of the King of Cashel.

One year an important annual pagan festival fell on the same night as the Easter Vigil of Holy Saturday. On that occasion, the High King of Ireland gathered with the druids to light a sacred fire. That same night St. Patrick boldly climbed the nearby Hill of Slane in plain sight of Tara and lit the paschal fire in proclamation of Christ’s resurrection. Many were shocked by his insolence, and he was challenged to explain himself. The saint so impressed his hearers with his preaching that many were converted, and no one dared to do him harm.

Another story is when Angus, the King of Munster, summoned St. Patrick after hearing of his wonders. After some time, he eagerly consented to be baptized. The ceremony took place at his fortress on the great Rock of Cashel. During the ceremony, St. Patrick accidentally pierced the foot of the king with the bottom of his crozier. The king was tough, and didn’t draw any attention to the pain. When the saint noticed with horror what he had done by the pool of blood on the floor, he asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?” The king replied, “I thought it was part of the ceremony!” Perhaps he thought he had to have a share of Christ’s sufferings as in baptism we die with Christ so that as He was raised from the dead we can have new life? (Rom 6:4).

It is likely that St. Patrick’s work was mainly carried out in the northern half of Ireland. It is there that places traditionally associated with him are located. There is his Metropolitan See at Armagh, along with Saul where he is said to have retired and died, as previously mentioned.

There is also “St. Patrick’s Purgatory” in Station Island in Lough Derg, County Donegal. There, according to legend, St. Patrick withdrew to pray when he was filled with discouragement by the doubts of his potential converts who demanded substantial proof of his teachings. In answer to his prayers, a pit opened in the ground revealing Purgatory, which he showed to the people. Confronted by the reality of God’s judgement and the need to be purified of sin even after a good death in union with God, all who beheld the sight were compelled to convert. A popular penitential practice among the Irish today is to make a pilgrimage to the island for three days of rigorous prayer and fasting.

In County Mayo there is Croagh Patrick, where St. Patrick is said to have spent a season of Lent fasting upon the summit. This too, is a popular pilgrimage destination where many engage in the penitential practice of hiking to the top of the mountain.

And lastly, Tradition holds that the mortal remains of St. Patrick were laid to rest in County Down, in a city now called Downpatrick because of the honor of its association with the nation’s spiritual father. In the cemetery of Downpatrick’s Protestant Cathedral there is a large granite boulder marking the symbolic spot with an inscription carved upon it of a Celtic cross with the name “PATRIC” cut in Irish characters.

Patrick does write in his Confession, however: “For your sake, my Irish Christians, I traveled everywhere among great dangers. I even went to the most remote parts of the island—places at the very edge of the world, places no one had ever been before—to baptize and ordain clergy and confirm people in the faith.”⁸

We can believe then, that his missionary activity was felt across the nation.

St. Patrick’s strategy

St. Patrick didn’t seek to eradicate the native Celtic culture but only to transform it. According to a popular tradition, for instance, the Celtic Cross was introduced by St. Patrick combining the Christian cross with the sun worshipped by the pagans. Just as the sun gives life to the earth, he taught that that the Cross gives eternal life by Christ’s sacrifice.

Whenever St. Patrick entered a district he would first present himself to the local king and give him gifts in accord with the proper Celtic custom. He would request two favors which were usually granted: a title to a plot of land to build a church and permission to preach the gospel to the locals. Though some kings were reticent to embrace Christianity lest the social order which was favorable to them be disrupted, their children were eager to learn. As St. Patrick recounts in his Confession:

How wonderful it is that here in Ireland a people who never had any knowledge of God—who until now have worshipped idols and impure things—have recently became a people of the Lord and are now called children of God. You can see the sons and daughters of Irish kings have become brothers and virgins for Christ…But many of them do this against the wishes of their parents. Indeed, their families sometimes punish them cruelly and make all sorts of horrible accusations against them. Still, the number of such virgins who have chosen this new life continues to grow so that I can’t keep track of them all.⁹

All this laid the groundwork for the mass conversion of the Irish as Patrick relates having personally baptized “countless converts.”¹⁰

St. Patrick is responsible for bringing the once isolated Ireland within the boundaries of Christian unity present on the continent. The monasteries that were established after his death would become great centers of learning destined to hold a vital role as keepers of the light of civilization as the Dark Age would descend upon Europe.

St. Patrick’s ultimate legacy is summarized realistically by the biographer J.B. Bury: “Patrick’s achievements as organizer of a church and as propagator of his faith made Christianity a living force in Ireland never to be extinguished. Before him, it might have been in danger of extinction through predominant paganism. After him, it became the religion of Ireland, though paganism did not completely disappear. He did not introduce Christianity so much as he secured its permanence, shaped its course, and made it a power in the land.”¹¹

The only pieces of historical evidence dating back to St. Patrick’s life are his own writings: Confession, a sort of autobiography, his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, a stern rebuke to a British warlord named Coroticus and his soldiers who kidnapped and killed many of his recent Irish converts. Apart from these, another important source is the “Vita, Life” of St. Patrick composed in the seventh century by St. Muirchu.

The writing St. Patrick is most famous for is the “Lorica, Breastplate” which scholars believe was composed a century or so after his death. It is certainly in keeping with the saint’s spirit, however. He is said to have composed it when an ambush was set to prevent him from preaching at Tara. The most famous stanza of this magnificent morning song of praise and invocations reads:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ below me, Christ above me,
Christ to the right of me, Christ to the left of me,
Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I stand,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye which sees me,
Christ in every ear which hears me.

St. Patrick ends his Confession with a heartfelt appeal to remain with the Irish people people he loved so he could continue serving them until his last breath: “So may God never permit me to be separated from his people—for whom he worked so hard—here at the end of the earth. I pray that God will give me perseverance and allow me to be a faithful witness for him until I die.¹²

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