People dressed from head to toe in green, shamrocks, Irish folk music and dancing, Irish flags, Guinness Irish Stout, Irish whiskey, street parades and other festivities are all things that contribute to the celebration of being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day is held on March 17th each year and is named after the Irish national icon, St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland.
The Confession of St. Patrick
Perhaps the best way to understand who St. Patrick was and what he did is to look to the writing of the man himself. St. Patrick’s words are believed to have survived in what is considered to be a letter written by him in the 5th century. This has been translated from Latin into English.
The letter is known as “The Confessio of Saint Patrick”, and here are some details from it as far as can be understood from the translation.
St. Patrick’s Early Life
In his younger years, Patrick lived with his family near a village called Bannavem Taburniae, which was somewhere in Roman Britain. Even though he was the son of a minister, named Calpurnius, Patrick did not feel as though he knew God.
Patrick was captured by Irish pirates as a teenager, and taken to Ireland where he was sold as a slave. He was made to work as a shepherd herding pigs and sheep. Patrick believed his enslavement was his punishment for not believing in God and having no faith. He prayed frequently in the harsh wintery conditions.
St. Patrick the Christian Missionary
After six years as a slave in Ireland, Patrick managed to escape on a boat back to Britain, where he became a priest. He then took the decision to go back to Ireland after a dream he had which told him to return there. The dream inspired him to preach the Gospel to the Irish people, and he felt it was his calling to convert others to the Christian faith.
Patrick the Christian missionary eventually became the second Bishop of Ireland, spreading the word of Christ to the Irish people, and baptising many thousands.
St. Patrick’s Difficulties
Things weren’t easy for Patrick. Despite a yearning to return to his family in Britain, Patrick stayed in Ireland to continue his work because he felt it was his duty to spread the Christian message and continue God’s work.
Patrick often came up against rejection by other Christian ministers, who accused him of carrying out his missionary work for his own personal gain and for his own glory.
What does St. Patrick have to do with St. Patrick’s Day?
After his death, Patrick remained widely regarded as the man who brought Christianity to Ireland, and was subsequently made a saint (possibly in the 8th century).
The festivities of St. Patrick’s Day seem to have little to do with what is considered to be the truth about the life of the man who became the Patron Saint of Ireland. Perhaps the most astonishing thing of all is the icon of the Irish was actually a British man, who took it upon himself to travel to Ireland, convert the Irish pagans to Christianity, and successfully replace their religion with his own.
St. Patrick himself might even be surprised at the nature of the celebrations that occur each year in his honour on St. Patrick’s Day.
Resources:
Christian Classics Ethereal Library. "The “Confessio” of Saint Patrick." (Accessed 15th March 2009)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
