Some Lesser-Known Facts
Ireland’s patron saint, St. Patrick, is believed to have been born as Maewyn Succat and later adopted the moniker by which he’s known today. An article in Biography dot com [LINK] tells us seven lesser-known facts.
Saint Patrick wasn’t Irish is fact #1. Apparently, he was born in England in 385 AD. According to their story, Irish pirates kidnapped him at age 16 and sold him into slavery. That’s a surprise fact… Irish pirates sold people into slavery!!
Fact #2 is that he taught himself to read and write. Apparently his only education was what he learned from a French bishop and he knew the basic Latin, but nothing else. When he was a missionary, he found this to be embarrassing and so he determined to read and write, and found a way to teach himself.
The fact #3 has to do with the Celtic cross. Some believe that Saint Patrick is the one who created this symbol with the circle on the cross being intended as a halo. Today people put the Celtic cross on tombstones and other surfaces. He used the pagan symbolism – the circle of light – to help him convert pagans to Christianity.
Fact #4 lets us know where the shamrock symbolism comes from. Apparently, Saint Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. The shamrock is recognized as the national flower of Ireland today and the reason it endures and represents Irish pride is the use of it by Saint Patrick as a religious tool.
The fact #5 has to do with the color green – the original color for St. Patrick was blue. After the Order of Saint Patrick was established, the color of the Order had to stand out from what came before, and since dark green was what came before, the Order of Saint Patrick chose blue. Over time it has changed back to green.
Fact #6 has to do with the story of Saint Patrick chasing away snakes. The truth is that Ireland didn’t have snakes at that time since the island was surrounded by icy water. The article speculates that the “snakes” he is supposed to have driven out were symbolic – pointing toward representatives of the Druids and the Pagans in Ireland since they were considered evil.
Our final fact, fact #7, is that Saint Patrick was never canonized by a Pope. His “saint” status is questionable, but he wasn’t the only saint that didn’t go through a canonization. Most of the saints from his time period were given the title if they were martyrs or if they were looked upon as being holy.
Some Significant History…
Our first info is a surprising story – it was slavery that brought Ireland’s patron saint to its shore. We will quote from the History website [LINK].
“Early in the 5th century, an Irish ship beat against the waves along the western coast of Great Britain. On the far edge of the crumbling Roman Empire, a band of Irish marauders crept into a secluded cove and raided the village of Bannavem Taburniae. Among the plunder captured by the band of warriors dispatched by Ireland’s King Niall of the Nine Hostages was a 16-year-old boy named Succat. Although brought to Ireland against his will, the teenager would go on to become Ireland’s patron saint. Saint Patrick may have been a foreigner who arrived in Ireland in the hold of a pagan king’s slave ship, but he would become synonymous with the island itself.”
According to the story, Patrick was born into a well-to-do family and grew up, until he was captured, in Wales which was part of the Roman Empire. Christianity was in his family, as his father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest.
Slavery and Escape from Slavery
Apparently the raid where he was captured was not unusual. The article states, “We know from a few other late Roman sources that the Irish had been raiding western Britain regularly for at least a century before Patrick was captured in the early 400s, just as the Saxons had been raiding in the east of Britain. One of the most horrifying features of the period is the wholesale enslavement of freemen and women. In the slavery business, no tribe was fiercer or more feared than the Irish. As Roman power waned, forays by Irish raiders grew more common. On a regular basis, they plundered animals and clothes and snatched children from their sleep in the middle of the night. They abducted young men to herd sheep and cows and young women to serve them.
“Deprived of food and clothes, Patrick lived in virtual isolation. His only companions were his flock and his newfound faith. Amid the desolation, Patrick’s Christianity blossomed. He prayed as many as 100 times during the day—and matched that total at night.”
Saint Patrick wrote his own story, which is called Confessio. In his story, he said that an angel appeared in a dream and guided him toward freedom and a return to home. Following the angel’s instruction he walked through 200 miles of bogs and forests and found a cargo ship bound for the European continent.
Here is the rest of the story as he told it: “His parents begged him to never leave them again, but the religious visions returned and presented Patrick with a different plan. He heard the voice of the Irish call out, “We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk again among us.” After a period of religious training, he was ordained a deacon around 418 A.D. and in 432 A.D. consecrated as a bishop and given the name Patricius.”
And there we have it – the story of how Patricius became the Patron Saint of Ireland – Saint Patrick!
Have a Great Saint Patrick’s Day!!
We hope you have something fun planned for the day, and of course we hope this story has added to your enjoyment of the day!!
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