Patron Saint of h'Eireann

Compiled and edited by: Rich Finn

For: Vox Hiberniae Seattle™

Saint Patrick, (Latin: Patricius; Irish: Phádraig), was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, along with saints Brigit of Kildare* and Columba*. He is also venerated in the Anglican Communion, the Old Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church as equal-to-apostles and the Enlightener of Ireland.

Maewyn Succat, (Patrick), was born in Bannavem Taberniae, Strathclyde in 389CE to a father who was a deacon to the Christian Roman Church, Calpurnius. Today the village site is thought to be in what's now Dumbarton, Scotland (just northwest of Glasgow Scotland).

One day at the age of 16, Maewyn and his village were attacked by Scotti pirates from the island across the sea, Hiberneria. He fought hard for his life and freedom, but was overwhelmed and taken prisoner. He was taken by boat back to Hiberneria/Ireland and sold as a slave to Milchu. Milchu was a chief of the Irish tribal clan the Dalriada, who in 500 CE would invade Strathclyde and the Western Isles of current day Scotland. Milchu held lands in current day County Antrim, Northern Ireland, specifically in the Valley of the Braid near the slopes of Slieve Mis, (Slemish Mountain). Maewyn was taught to farm and tend sheep. In fact that was his chief calling as he easily gained the trust of his captors; learning their language, skill sets and ways of life. He was trusted to take the sheep unsupervised up the slopes of Slemish to graze. This also gave Maewyn time to dream and think of home, and one day “A Voice” told him to leave. It was 6 years later before he could make his escape and defy all the odds to make his way home again. Once he was reunited with his family, he started having dreams of Ireland.

Vox Hiberniae – the Voice of the Irish

Throughout this time, Maewyn describes how he never forgot his time in Ireland and the people he had met. He had another dream in which he saw a man coming from Ireland. The man handed him a letter with the heading, Vox Hiberniae – the Voice of the Irish. He said that as he read the letter, he heard the people he had known in Ireland calling to him: “We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk among us once again.” The memory of the voices he heard in the dream stayed with him for many years. He wrote: “It completely broke my heart, and I could read no more and woke up.” Maewyn said the dream left him in no doubt as to what he had to do: return to Ireland to preach the Gospel and convert the Irish to Christianity.

In 417 CE in the Roman province of Gaul, Maewyn was ordained as a priest and took the name Patricuis Succat, (The Irish would gaeligeize his name to Phàdraig/Patrick).

In 432 CE, Pope Celestine l appointed Patrick as First Bishop of Ireland after Palladius; (another Bishop sent on mission) was banished from Ireland by the King of Leinster. So Patrick left friends and family to return to the land of his 6 year enslavement as a Bishop for the Holy Roman Church.

Patrick’s ship landed at the eastern shore of Ireland in Wicklow, Co. Wicklow, at the mouth of the river Inverdea, which is now called the Vartry. Wicklow was also the port through which Patrick made his escape from Ireland years before. Patrick was not welcomed by the locals and was forced to seek a more welcoming landing place further north. He rested for some days at the islands off the Skerries coast (County Dublin), one of which still retains the name of Inis Patrick (Phàdraig Isle).

He went to the west and north (modern County Donegal and Antrim), where the faith had never been preached, obtained the protection of local kings and made numerous converts. Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Church.

He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both Europe and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission. He had a rocklike belief in his vocation, and the cause he had espoused. By the time he died at age 72— he had showed the Irish how to find Christ in one another.

A famous legend about St. Patrick says he explained the Holy Trinity to the people by using a shamrock, the three-leafed plant which is today the Irish national emblem. He crushed the influence of Ireland’s druid polytheism, credibility and powers, thus driving the “Snakes” out of Ireland.

He died on March 17, 461 CE. Patrick is buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, alongside St. Brigid and St. Columba. The Saint Patrick Visitor Centre is a modern exhibition complex located in Downpatrick and is a permanent interpretative exhibition centre featuring interactive displays on the life and story of Saint Patrick. It provides the only permanent exhibition centre in the world devoted to Saint Patrick.

March 17 became a feast day in the Catholic Church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding, as a member of the commission for the reform of the Breviary in the early part of the seventeenth century.

St. Patrick features in many stories in the Irish oral tradition and there are many customs connected with his feast day. The folklorist Jenny Butler discusses how these traditions have been given new layers of meaning over time while also becoming tied to Irish identity both in Ireland and abroad. The symbolic resonance of the St. Patrick figure is complex and multifaceted, stretching from that of Christianity’s arrival in Ireland to an identity that encompasses everything Irish. In some portrayals, the saint is symbolically synonymous with the Christian religion itself. There is also evidence of a combination of indigenous religious traditions with that of Christianity, which places St Patrick in the wider framework of cultural hybridity. Popular religious expression has this characteristic feature of merging elements of culture. Later in time, the saint becomes associated specifically with Catholic Ireland and synonymously with Irish national identity. Subsequently, St. Patrick is a patriotic symbol along with the colour green and the shamrock. St. Patrick's Day celebrations include many traditions that are known to be relatively recent historically, but have endured through time because of their association either with religious or national identity. They have persisted in such a way that they have become stalwart traditions, viewed as the strongest "Irish traditions".

For most of Christianity's first thousand years, canonizations were done on the diocesan or regional level. Relatively soon after the death of people considered very holy, the local Church affirmed that they could be liturgically celebrated as saints. As a result, St. Patrick has never been formally canonized by a Pope; nevertheless, various Christian churches declare that he is a Saint in Heaven (he is in the List of Saints). He is still widely venerated in Ireland and elsewhere today.

St. Patrick is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) and with a commemoration on the calendar of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, both on 17 March. St. Patrick is also venerated in the Orthodox, especially among English-speaking Orthodox Christians living in Ireland, the UK and in the USA. There are Orthodox icons dedicated to him.

Places associated with Saint Patrick:

. Slemish, County Antrim and Killala Bay, County Mayo - When captured by raiders, there are two theories as to where Patrick was enslaved. One theory is that he herded sheep in the countryside around Slemish. Another theory is that Patrick herded sheep near Killala Bay, at a place called Fochill.

. Saul, County Down (from Irish: Sabhall Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's barn") - It is claimed that Patrick founded his first church in a barn at Saul, which was donated to him by a local chieftain called Dichu. It is also claimed that Patrick died at Saul or was brought there between his death and burial. Nearby, on the crest of Slieve Patrick, is a huge statue of Saint Patrick with bronze panels showing scenes from his life.

. Hill of Slane, County Meath - Muirchu Moccu Machtheni, in his highly mythologized seventh-century Life of Patrick, says that Patrick lit a Paschal fire on this hilltop in 433CE in defiance of High King Laoire. The story says that the fire could not be doused by anyone but Patrick, and it was here that he explained the holy trinity using the shamrock.

. Croagh Patrick, County Mayo (from Irish: Cruach Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's stack") - It is claimed that Patrick climbed this mountain and fasted on its summit for the forty days of Lent. Croagh Patrick draws thousands of pilgrims who make the trek to the top on the last Sunday in July.

. Lough Derg, County Donegal (from Irish: Loch Dearg, meaning "red lake") - It is claimed that Patrick killed a large serpent on this lake and that its blood turned the water red (hence the name). Each August, pilgrims spend three days fasting and praying there on Station Island.

. Armagh, County Armagh - Patrick founded a church here and proclaimed it to be the most holy church in Ireland. Armagh is today the primary seat of both the Catholic Church in Ireland and the Church of Ireland, and both cathedrals in the town are named after Patrick.

. Downpatrick, County Down (from Irish: Dún Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's stronghold") - Patrick was brought here after his death and buried in the grounds of Down Cathedral.

Other places named after Saint Patrick include:

. Ardpatrick, County Limerick (from Irish: Ard Pádraig, meaning "high place of Patrick"

. Patrick Water (Old Patrick Water), Elderslie, Renfrewshire. from Scots' Gaelic "AlltPadraig" meaning Patrick's Burn

. Patrickswell or Toberpatrick, County Limerick (from Irish: Tobar Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's well")

. St. Patrick's Chapel, Heysham

. St. Patrick's Island, County Dublin

. Old Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, Scotland from "Cill Phàdraig," Patrick's Church, a claimant to his birthplace

. St. Patrick's Isle, off the Isle of Man

. St. Patrick’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the Baie Verte district of Newfoundland

. Llanbadrig (church), Ynys Badrig (island), Porth Padrig (cove), Llyn Padrig (lake), and Rhosbadrig (heath) on the island of Anglesey in Wales

. Templepatrick, County Antrim (from Irish: Teampall Phádraig, meaning "Patrick's church")

. St. Patrick's Hill, Liverpool, on old maps of the town near to the former location of "St Patrick's Cross"

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• Special thanks to Saint Patrick Of Spokane for his work in Ireland, the PNW Irish community, and for his collaboration on this article.

  Míle Buíochas a chara!