Saint Patrick - The Missionary and Bishop of Ireland
St. Patrick, or the "Apostle of Ireland," actually started out in the
pagan religion. While not much is known about his early life, as many
of his life's details were lost to folklore, letters from St. Patrick
reveal that he was captured in Wales, Scotland, or another close area
outside of Ireland and taken to Ireland as a slave. Years later, he
escaped and returned to his family, who were Romans living in Britain,
going back to Ireland for mission work after finding a place as a cleric
and then Bishop within the Christian faith. He was born around 460, and
by the 600s, he was already known as the Patron Saint of Ireland.
There are many legends associated with St. Patrick. The symbol of the
shamrock used for St. Patrick's Day comes from the story of St. Patrick
using the shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity. The three-leafed
plant coincided with the Pagan religion's sanctity of the number three
and is the root of the green color theme.
Another popular belief is that St. Patrick banished the snakes from
Ireland. The story says that while St. Patrick was fasting, snakes
attacked him, so he chased all snakes into the ocean. However, there
have never been snakes in Ireland during the post-glacial period. The
absence of snakes and symbolism involved with snakes is believed to
explain the story, although it could have been referring to type of worm
rather than snakes. One legend has St. Patrick sticking a walking stick
into the ground while evangelizing, which turned into a tree.
SYMBOLS
LEARN ABOUT SAINT PATRICK´S DAY
