I had always assumed he was English.
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day. A day for everyone to be Irish - at least for a few hours. Now for some, the occasion serves as a convenient reason for getting drunk and acting dumber than usual. We don’t know a lot about Patrick of Ireland, but it’s doubtful he’d approve of “his” day being celebrated that way.
It’s believed he was born about 389 in southwest Britain and his British name was Succat. Kidnapped as a teenager by Irish bandits, he spent six years in captivity. Much of that time he was a pig herdsman. During this period Patrick went from a religious indifference to fierce piety. Every morning, regardless of weather, he’d rise before dawn and go outside to pray. He began having visions, visions urging him to escape.
He ultimately did and made it to what is now France. He was reunited with his parents and lived with them for several years. After ordination as a priest, he returned to the land of his captivity - this time as the second bishop of Ireland.
We all know Ireland is an ancient land. A Phoenician explorer who landed there about 510 B.C. described it as “populous and fertile.” It was also a violent land, where clan fought clan for hundreds of years. Irish warriors were buried upright, armed for battle and facing their enemies. Can’t be too careful, you know.
The Irish at the time worshipped the stars and the moon, the wind, water and about everything else. They believed in fairies and demons and elves. All in all, it was going to be a tough crowd to win over to Christianity.
Patrick concentrated on the north and the west of Ireland. He challenged the Druids directly by bring his own exorcists with him. Nothing like being prepared. Many miracles are attributed to Patrick. Nennius wrote, “he gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, cleansed the lepers, cast out devils, redeemed captives, raised nine persons from the dead, and wrote 365 books.”
That’s tough to believe, especially the part about 365 books. The shamrock, now widely considered the national symbol of Ireland, was used by Patrick to illustrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity. The device may not seem like much, but multimedia presentations weren’t to come until centuries later.
I thought he was Welsh!