Sunday is the feast of Saint Patrick and during the Saint Patrick weekend there will be a lot of partying and drinking. Many people do not even know that Saint Patrick is a Catholic saint, a fourth century missionary bishop.
Patrick wrote his autobiography and most of what we know about him, we know from his own writing. Read the Confessions of Saint Patrick https://www.confessio.ie/etexts/confessio_english#.
Saint Patrick was almost certainly born in what is now Great Britain. His name is Latin so likely his parents were Roman citizens stationed in Britain. His father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. He was born and raised in the Catholic faith.
The Irish from across the sea were at this time pirates who routinely raided Britain, killing and plundering. Patrick was captured in such a raid and taken to Ireland where he was sold as a slave.
As a slave, he was forced to tend sheep for his master and he spent long hours alone in the wilderness where he fell in love with God. He came to understand that God did not want him to be a slave and, prompted by a revelation, he escaped and was united with his parents.
He joined a monastery and became a priest. Again, he discerned a call from God to return to Ireland as a missionary. He spent the rest of his life preaching the Gospel in Ireland and establishing monasteries. Despite being enslaved by the Irish, he returned to them to preach to them God’s Good News. He came to love the people who had kidnapped and enslaved him.
Ireland was for many centuries a solidly Catholic country. In recent years, secularism has weakened the faith, but there are still many believers in Ireland. And Irish missionaries have carried the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The Catholic Church in the United States is built partly on Irish immigrant foundations.
The association of drinking and partying with the feast of Saint Patrick is an unfair ethnic insult which links the Irish with irresponsible alcohol consumption. We should celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day in fun without impugning Irish culture. However, we also ought to remember a faithful Catholic missionary whose impact on Ireland is powerful and positive.
