10 Things to know about Saint Patrick
Everyone loves Saint Patrick’s Day!
It’s about, shamrocks, leprechauns and green beer. Does that have anything to do with the real Saint Patrick? Here’s 10 quick facts about the actual Saint Patrick.
Patrick is not Irish. He was born in Britain in the late 3rd Century.
According to Patrick’s writings he was kidnapped by Irish pirates when he was 16 and carried to Ireland to work as a shepherd. The solitude of being a shepherd gave Patrick time to reflect on his beliefs and turn wholeheartedly to Christianity.
While shepherding, he had an encounter with God who said his ship awaited him. Patrick escaped captivity, walked 200 miles to the Irish coast, boarded a ship and headed home to Britain where he continued his studies in Christianity.
Back in Britain, Patrick had another holy encounter. In this vision the Irish people said, “We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.” Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary.
Saint Patrick isn’t actually a Saint in the Catholic sense. He hasn’t been canonized probably because that practice began some 500 years after his death.
He didn’t banish all the snakes from Ireland. Post-glacial Ireland didn’t have any snakes to banish.
The shamrocks’ association with Saint Patrick’s Day stems from a suggestion that he used the three leaf clover as an illustration for the Trinity; however, that story seemed to emerge over 1000 years after his death.
The grumpy leprechauns that show up around March 17th are probably handed down to us from the Celts who believed in fairies. The Celts preceded Saint Patrick by about 200 years.
The tradition of green beer began in 1914 when an Irish immigrant, Dr. Thomas Hayes Curtain, a coroner in New York City, revealed his concoction at the Bronx Social Club.
So, some of the legend may be just legend, but what is real and more far more meaningful, because of the work that Saint Patrick did to convert ‘heathens’ and establish monasteries, to touch people and respect their culture, religious and secular historians agree that his vision and mission not only changed Ireland, but the world.