The real St. Patrick….
- Wasn’t Irish,
- Born a Roman citizen in Britain
- Came from a wealthy aristocratic family
- Father was deacon, grandfather a priest
- Showed no interest in following Christ in early years
- Kidnapped by Irish pagans at age 16
- Served as a slave for 6 years caring for herds
- Lived outdoors bearing the elements
- Began to pray fervently and grow in his faith
- God spoke to him that a ship was ready to return him
- He fled and found a port 200 miles away
- Returned home as a follower of Jesus
- Patrick recounts that he had a vision a few years after returning home
“I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: “The Voice of the Irish”. As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea—and they cried out, as with one voice: “We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.”
- Prepared himself and became a cleric
- Was sent back to preach Christ to a hostile pagan Ireland
- Saw thousands converted
- Christian communities established
Saint Patrick returned to Ireland and, using the knowledge of Irish language and culture that he gained during his first captivity, brought Christianity and monasticism to Ireland in the form of more than 300 churches and over 100,000 Irish baptised.
Legend credits St. Patrick with teaching the Irish about the doctrine of the Holy Trinity by showing people the shamrock, a three-leafed plant, using it to illustrate the Christian teaching of three persons in one God.
- Pastors ordained to care for them
- Was persecuted, mocked and imprisoned at times
- Historians credit him for saving western civilization
- Re-established Christian thought in Barbarian Europe
- Provided the transition from the classical age to medieval
- Was a mighty apostle to a pagan Ireland
- Died in obscurity
