Patrick
387 - 461
Feast day: 17 March
Patron of: Ireland, engineers, protection against snakes
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Patrick, one of the most celebrated saints in the Catholic Church, was a missionary sent with divine guidance to Ireland.
His first experience with Ireland, however, was not as a holy man. In his youth, Patrick was captured by Irish pirates and forced to work for roughly six years until his eventual escape. Despite having no church, religious mentor, or community, Patrick grew tremendously in his faith. During his time as a shepherd slave, he revealed:
"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was [raised], so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers… I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn."
Despite his captivity, Patrick knew he needed to return to Ireland to serve the people there. Several years later, he returned to Ireland to fulfill a divine mission to spread Christianity. Patrick faced strong opposition from numerous pagan and druid religious leaders. It is said that several Irish chieftains attempted to kill Patrick but were thwarted by divine interventions. Patrick is credited with driving all snakes out of Ireland. This folklore is likely an allegory about how he purged the island of its pagan rituals. In addition to those miraculous feats, Patrick had a teacher’s heart. He used the local shamrock as a tool to instruct the Irish on the Holy Trinity. Today, he is commonly depicted as holding a shamrock and a staff. Patrick died at Saul, the site where he built the first Catholic church in Ireland.
Purchase a Patrick 2024 Candle to start a new prayer chain and support TPMS’s missions.
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2024
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