Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, lived from about 385 A.D. to about 493 A.D. Historical sources are imprecise. He was born somewhere along the west coast of Britain or France, captured by raiders as a young man, made a slave and then taken to Ireland.

While a slave, he learned the native Celtic language and the customs of the Druids. At 22, he escaped and, as per legend, an angel directed him to a monastery in France where he spent 12 years and adopted the name Patrick. In his thirties, voices beckoned him to go back to Ireland as a Christian missionary.

Patrick encouraged the Irish to become monks and nuns. He traveled throughout Ireland preaching, establishing churches, teaching, opening schools and monasteries, and abolishing paganism, idolatry, and Sun-worship.

One legend relates that Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. However, since the country never actually had any snakes, the legend is believed to mean that Patrick rid Ireland of the symbolic serpents of the Druids and pagans by establishing a lasting foundation of Christianity.

Also legendary is the story of Patrick introducing the shamrock, three-leaf clover, to the Irish people as a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

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