Who was St. Patrick and why is he a Saint? Happy St. Patrick's day everyone?

Answer 1

Patrick was a crazy English man that heard voices, and destroyed the Celtic/druid religion

Answer 2

The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD385. His given name was Maewyn, and he almost didn't get to be bishop of Ireland because he lacked the required scholarship.

Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At that age, he was sold into slavery by the group of Irish marauders that raided his vollage. During his captivity, he became closer to God.

He escaped from slavery after 6 years and went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre for a period of 12 years. During his training he became aware that his calling was to convert the pagans to Christianity.

His wishes were to return to Ireland, to convert the native pagans to Christianity, but his superiors instead appointed St. Palladius. 2 years later, Palladius transferred to Scotland. Patrick, having adopted that Christian name earlier, was then appointed as second bishop to Ireland.

Patrick was quite successful at winning converts and this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time. He traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country. He also set up schools and churches which would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.

His mission in Ireland lasted for 30 years. After that time, Patrick retired to County Down. He died on March 17 in AD461. That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day. Not much of it is actually substantiated.

Some of this lore includes the belief that Patrick raised people from the dead. He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.

One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock and the stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the 3 leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

The St. Patricks Day custom came to America in 1737. That was the first year St. Patrick's Day was prublicly celebrated in this country, in Boston.

Today, people celebrate the day with parades, wearing of the green, and drinking green bear or plain beer. One reason St. Patrick's Day might have become so popular is that it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring. One might say it has become the first green of spring.

Answer 3

St Patrick was originally Welsh (from Wales), but when he was younger, he was kidknapped by Niall Of The Nine Hostages, and taken to Northern Ireland. He was sold as a slave to a man named Milciu (i think!) and forced to look after pigs on Sliabh Mis (a mountain).
Whne he escaped back to Wales, he had a dream, where an angel told him to return to Ireland to convert the pagans to christianity. he did, and when he died, he was buried in Croagh Patrick (another mountain). People take pilgrimages there to climb the mountain barefoot.

St Patrick also supposedly banished all the snakes in Ireland, but that's only really a myth.
Hope i helped!

Answer 4

St Patrick is known as the patron saint of Ireland. True, he was not a born Irish.
But he has become an integral part of the Irish heritage, mostly through
his service across Ireland of the 5th century.

Patrick was born in the later half of the 4th century AD.
There are differing views about the exact year and place of his birth.
According to one school of opinion, he was born about 390 A.D.,
while the other school says it is about 373 AD. Again, his birth place
is said to be in either Scotland or Roman England.
His real name was probably Maewyn Succat.
Though Patricius was his Romanicized name,
he was later came to be familiar as Patrick.

Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a Roman-British army officer.
He was growing up as naturally as other kids in Britain. However, one day
a band of pirates landed in south Wales and kidnapped this boy
along with many others. Then they sold him into slavery in Ireland.
The was there for 6 years, mostly imprisoned.
This was when changes came to him. He dreamed of having seen God.
Legend says, he was then dictated by God to escape with a getaway ship.

Finally, he did escape and went to Britain. And then to France.
There he joined a monastery and studied under St. Germain,
the bishop of Auxerre. He spent around 12 years in training.
And when he became a bishop he dreamed that the Irish were calling him
back to Ireland to tell them about God.
The Confessio, Patrick's spiritual autobiography, is the most important
document regarding this. It tells of a dream after his return to Britain,
in which one Victoricus delivered him a letter headed "The Voice of the Irish."

So he set out for Ireland with the Pope's blessings. There he converted
the Gaelic Irish, who were then mostly Pagans, to Christianity. He was
confident in the Lord, he journeyed far and wide, baptizing and confirming
with untiring zeal. And, in a diplomatic fashion he brought gifts to
a kinglet here and a lawgiver there,but accepted none from any.

Indeed, Patrick was quite successful at winning converts.
Through active preaching, he made important converts even
among the royal families. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids.
Patrick was arrested several times,but escaped each time.
For 20 years he had traveled throughout Ireland,
establishing monasteries across the country.
He also set up schools and churches
which would aid him in his conversion.
He developed a native clergy,
fostered the growth of monasticism,
established dioceses, and held church councils.

Patrick's doctrine is considered orthodox
and has been interpreted as anti-Pelagian.
Although he is not particularly noted as a man of learning,
a few of his writings remain extant:
his Confession, a reply to his detractors, and several letters.
The Lorica ("Breastplate"), a famous hymn attributed to Patrick,
may date to a later period.

By the end of the 7th century Patrick had become a legendary figure,
and the legends have continued to grow since then.
There are many legends associated with St Patrick.
It is said that he used the three-leafed shamrock
to explain the concept of the Trinity;
which refers to the combination of
Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Hence its strong association with his day and name.
Legend also has that,
Saint Patrick had put the curse of God on venomous snakes in Ireland.
And he drove all the snakes into the sea where they drowned.

True, these are mostly legends. But, after some 1500 years,
these legends have been inseparably combined with the facts.
And together they have helped us know
much about the Saint and the spirit behind celebration of the day.

Patrick's mission in Ireland lasted for over 20 years.
He died on March 17, AD 461.
That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.
The day's spirit is to celebrate the universal baptization of Ireland.
Though originally a Catholic holy day,
St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.
Or, rather, 'be an Irish Day '.
And the Irish has borne it as part of their national tradition in
everywhere they populated and prospered.
The Catholic feast day for this most loved of Irish saints has become a holiday in celebration of the Irish and Irish culture. The leprechaun, a Celtic fairy, has become entrenched as a chief symbol for this holiday, as is the shamrock, an ancient symbol for the triple goddess Brigit. It is fitting that this holiday should fall at the time of the year when the return of spring begins to seem at hand.

Answer 5

i imagine to be honest that the in person-friendly words thanks to remedy it should be to get more advantageous English people to get off their bums and DO something on St George's day (myself blanketed)! no individual is fairly preventing us installation issues for St George's, yet no individual ever looks to harass to lol... I have a good time St Patricks day because I definitely have Irish people in my kin and we've continuously celebrated it, yet even even if i replaced into born in England (London to be particular lol), i do not ever shop in ideas celebrating St George's day...I stay in Wales now and a huge deal is made up of St David's day too...possibly we could continuously take a leaf out of the Irish/Welsh books and in simple terms organise issues down the pub, or with associates, or in spite of! i'm particular if people said a social gathering occurring, the overall public ought to opt to connect in! =D If people did not like it/suggested it replaced into racist i'd ignore about them, as long as all it really is is a risk free social gathering and under no circumstances an excuse for a racist rally, i don't believe of maximum individuals ought to have a difficulty with it...

Answer 6

Yes, he was a real person with a biography etc. But all you need to know is that he was supposed to be the man that drove the snakes out of Ireland (hence, Ireland has no snakes) and subsequently converted the former Celtic stronghold to Christianity.

Answer 7

St. Patrick - The Patron Saint of Ireland


WHO WAS ST. PATRICK?
St. Patrick was a Christian missionary credited with the conversion of Ireland from paganism. He lived from the late 4th century A.D. to the mid 5th century A.D., so long ago that it's difficult to separate fact from legend.








St. Patrick was born in either Scotland or Wales, the son of Roman parents living in Britain. When he was about fifteen or sixteen, he was captured and enslaved by an Irish chieftain during a raiding party across the sea. He spent several years enslaved in Ireland, herding and tending sheep and swine. It was during his captivity that St. Patrick dedicated his life to God. Legend has it that St. Patrick escaped captivity and Ireland after a dream in which God instructed him to journey to the Irish coast where he found a ship that returned him to his family.


After years of religious study, he became a priest. In a document attributed to him known as "The Confession", St. Patrick heard the voice of the Irish in his dreams, "crying to thee, come hither and walk with us once more." Eventually, Pope Clemens commissioned St. Patrick as bishop to preach the gospel to the Celtic people. Arriving back in Ireland, he commenced an incredible mission, travelling across the country, preaching and baptizing, ordaining priests and bishops, erecting churches and establishing places of learning and worship, despite constant threats to his life. It has been said that he and his disciples were responsible for converting almost all the population of Ireland to Christianity.


LEGEND OF THE SERPENTS
The most famous legend about St. Patrick is that he miraculously drove snakes and all venomous beasts from Ireland by banging a drum. Even to touch Irish soil was purported to be instant death for any such creature. However, this legend is probably a metaphor for his driving the pagans from Ireland, as snakes were often associated with pagan worship.


WHY THE SHAMROCK?
Finding that the pagan Irish had great difficulty comprehending the doctrine of the Trinity, St. Patrick held up a shamrock (similar to a three-leaf clover) to show how the three leaves combined to make a single plant, just as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost combined to make the holy Trinity. The Irish understood at once, and from that time the shamrock has been the symbol of the land. Irishmen wear it in their hats on the saint's day.

WHY MARCH 17th?
It is the death of Saint Patrick, and his recognition as the patron saint of Ireland, that led to the celebration of March 17th as Saint Patrick's Day. In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is a holy, religious time with praying, singing and dance. Outside Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is primarily a secular celebration of all things Irish.


There are conflicting versions of the first North American celebration. One source says it was held in Boston in 1737 by the Irish Charitable Society, and later in Philadelphia and New York by the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Another source states that on March 17, 1762, a group of Irish-born soldiers, en route to the local tavern of renown to honor their patron saint, staged the first parade in colonial New York, complete with marching bands and colorful banners. Bystanders and passerby's joined the promenade, singing Irish ballads and dancing down the cobblestones. The event was so popular it has been repeated annually since then.

WHAT ABOUT WEARING GREEN?
Ireland's nickname is "The Emerald Isle" because the grass on the hills is so green. Everyone wears the color green on St. Patrick's Day to honor The Emerald Isle. If someone forgets to wear green on St. Patrick's Day, those who are wearing green are allowed to give the offender a pinch as a reminder. However, if you pinch someone who is wearing green, that person gets to pinch you back ten times! Some of the biggest St. Patrick's Day parades are in Chicago, Illinois, New York City, and Savannah, Georgia. The city of Chicago goes so far to celebrate that they dye their river green!


For more Great St. Patrick's Day fun, facts and links visit
http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/pat/

Answer 8

Anyone who spends their youth in Antrim - and survives - deserves to be made a saint!

Answer 9

he was the guy who lead the snakes out of ireland supposedly,