Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day
Although St. Patrick’s Day appears on our calendars each year, most modern celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day have little to do with the person behind the holiday. This coming weekend many people will wear a little extra green, some will celebrate their Irish heritage, and more than a few will drink a pint or two in honor of St. Patrick. But my guess is that relatively few who celebrate St. Patrick’s Day know much about Patrick himself, and in fact, some of what is commonly “known” about Patrick is actually mistaken.
E. A. Thompson begins his classic study of Patrick by telling of a time when he asked six British university professors about the nationality of Patrick. All six replied that he was “Irish, of course.” Such answers led Thompson to believe that his book on Patrick was sorely needed.
The truth is that Patrick was not Irish. In fact, his first trip to the Emerald Isle was not of his own choosing for he went there as a slave. Patrick (c. 389–c. 461) was a Briton by birth. At the age of 16, he (along with many others) was kidnapped by Irish invaders and forced into slavery. Concerning his captivity he later wrote, “We deserved this, because we had gone far away from God, and did not keep his commandments.” As a captive in Ireland, Patrick worked herding sheep. He had been raised in a home that was nominally Christian, but living as a slave in Ireland, he began to reflect on truths he had learned as a child and was apparently converted. As he put it, “It was there that the Lord opened up my awareness of my lack of faith. Even though it came about late, I recognized my failings. So I turned with all my heart to the Lord my God, and he looked down on my lowliness and had mercy on my youthful ignorance.” After about six years Patrick was able to escape and make his way back home to Britain. We know virtually nothing about the years immediately following his return to Britain, but eventually Patrick determined to return to Ireland to spread the gospel among the Irish people. And apparently, his work met with great success. In his Confession, Patrick tells of thousands of brothers and sisters whom he baptized. He never returned to his homeland, but rather died among the Irish people he loved. In time, Patrick has become known as the apostle to Ireland and one of that country’s patron saints. And although the story about Patrick using a three-leaf clover to teach the Irish about the Trinity is probably a fable, he was instrumental in spreading Nicene Trinitarianism in a land that had largely degenerated from ancient Christianity into tri-theistic idolatry.
Today, St. Patrick’s Day is little more than a celebration of Irish culture—complete with shamrocks, leprechauns, and silly songs. But behind the holiday known as St. Patrick’s Day stands a man who was willing to bring the message of Christianity to the land of his former captors, and that is something worth celebrating.
