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St. Patrick - the patron saint of Ireland
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, also known as the man who drove the snakes away from Ireland and often associated with shamrocks and anything green and gold.
Patrick was born in Scotland 387 A.D, presumably in a place called Kilpatrick. He was son to a deacon, and his grandfather was a priest. At the age of sixteen Patrick was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave.
During his time as a captive, he worked as a herdsman for six years. Some say that his faith grew when he started to turn to god in despair for his captivity.
One day while he was working, he heard a voice which told him to flee and go back home to Scotland, which he also did. He fled from his masters in Count Mayo, and went almost two hundred miles by feet to the Irish coast. He found a ship which took him back to Scotland again. By this time, Patrick was in his early twenties. Soon after his return to Britain, Patrick experienced a new religious revelation.
This is where the story divides. One part says that an angel came to Patrick in a dream and told him to go back to Ireland as a missionary, the other part claims that the people of Ireland talked to him in a dream and said "We beg you, Holy youth, to come and walk among us once more".
The next big thing that happened in Patrick's life was when he began his studies for the priesthood, which took him over ten years to accomplish. After his ordination as a priest, Patrick was sent back to Ireland with one task - to convert the Irish to Christianity. He arrived to Ireland for the second time in his life, this time as a free man, on March 25, 433 A.D.
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, also known as the man who drove the snakes away from Ireland and often associated with shamrocks and anything green and gold.
Patrick was born in Scotland 387 A.D, presumably in a place called Kilpatrick. He was son to a deacon, and his grandfather was a priest. At the age of sixteen Patrick was captured and taken to Ireland as a slave.
During his time as a captive, he worked as a herdsman for six years. Some say that his faith grew when he started to turn to god in despair for his captivity.
One day while he was working, he heard a voice which told him to flee and go back home to Scotland, which he also did. He fled from his masters in Count Mayo, and went almost two hundred miles by feet to the Irish coast. He found a ship which took him back to Scotland again. By this time, Patrick was in his early twenties. Soon after his return to Britain, Patrick experienced a new religious revelation.
This is where the story divides. One part says that an angel came to Patrick in a dream and told him to go back to Ireland as a missionary, the other part claims that the people of Ireland talked to him in a dream and said "We beg you, Holy youth, to come and walk among us once more".
The next big thing that happened in Patrick's life was when he began his studies for the priesthood, which took him over ten years to accomplish. After his ordination as a priest, Patrick was sent back to Ireland with one task - to convert the Irish to Christianity. He arrived to Ireland for the second time in his life, this time as a free man, on March 25, 433 A.D.