What is saint patrick the patron saint of
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St Patrick was a 5th century missionary who arrived in Ireland in the second half of the century to spread the word of Christianity. He made his roots in Northern Ireland in County Armagh and County Down.
Ireland’s patron saint was born circa 385 in England, to a father who was a deacon and a mother who was supposedly related to St Martin of Tours. Despite his holy connections, St Patrick is not thought to have had a particularly zealous religious upbringing.
The story of St Patrick really starts when he was 16 years old. He was captured by Irish bandits and sold into slavery in County Antrim. He remained in captivity here for six years, tending sheep in the Slemish mountains. According to folklore he saw this time as God’s way of testing his faith and he soon became devoted to Christianity.
Around 408, St Patrick is said to have had a dream in which he escaped slavery and returned to England. Upon waking he decided to make this dream a reality. He escaped his captors and convinced some sailors to let him travel on their ship.
But, according to one interpretation of the tale,
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Saint Patrick
386–461
Who Was Saint Patrick?
The man who would come to be known as Saint Patrick was a missionary that helped spread Christianity throughout Ireland during the 5th century. Much remains unknown about his life, including his birth name, but British-born Patrick became a devout Christian during his six-year enslavement in Ireland. He escaped only to return to Ireland later in life as a missionary, combining Irish pagan beliefs with Christian sacrament in his teachings. A religious figure within the Christian and Catholic faiths, he died around 461 AD and later became the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick is annually honored throughout the world on his feast day, March 17.
Quick Facts
NAME: Saint Patrick
BORN: circa 386 AD
DIED: circa 461 AD
BIRTHPLACE: Britain
FEAST DAY: March 17
Early Life
Saint Patrick was born in Britain circa 386 AD. Much of his life is unknown to historians and can’t be verified, though some sources have listed his birth name as Maewyn Succat, with the name Patrick later taken on during his religious journeys or ordainment.
His
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The History of St. Patrick
Most people know St. Patrick’s Day as a day to drink Guinness, wear green, and celebrate all things Irish. But few know the true story of the patron saint of Ireland.
St. Patrick was born Maewyn Succat around 385 in Kilpatrick, Scotland. At the age of 14 he was captured during a raid of his hometown and taken to Ireland to work as a slave, herding sheep. At the time he was captured Ireland was inhabited predominantly by Druids and pagans. Maewyn learned the language of the Irish and their lifestyle.
During Maewyn’s servitude in Ireland he never forgot about God and prayed to him every single day. It is said that he would sometimes pray over 100 times a day.
Six years after he had been captured, God came to Maewyn in a dream and told him to leave Ireland by going to the coast. Maewyn did as God instructed and boarded a ship back to Britain where he was reunited with his family.
Once home, Maewyn had another dream in which the people of Ireland were asking him to come back and teach them about God. So Maewyn began studying to become
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