St. Patrick
Born: c. 385 CE
Died: c. March 17, 461 CE
Feast day: March 17
Patron saint of: Ireland, engineers, protection from snakes
Many Catholics know little of St. Patrick beyond the kitschy mascot of clovers, green rivers, and beer. In reality, Patrick is a mythical hero born of blood and fire.
Patrick’s story has all the marks of North American adoption narratives, of settlers taken as captives who were completely absorbed into Native communities, remaining “unredeemed” in the eyes of settler society. Like Patrick, others found themselves transported back to the lands of their births, only to later return to the lands of their captivities and embrace “un-redemption.”
Stories like Patrick’s hold important lessons about human nature and ultimate meaning. His story needs to be told, not to romanticize the brutal events or justify the behavior of slaveholders, but because his witness speaks directly to the malaise of disbelief unique to “developed” societies, the spiritual apathy born of comfort and disconnection from ancestral patterns of life within which our species evolved and God became incarnate.
More about St. Patrick:
There’s more to St. Patrick than shamrocks and beer
How a teen of Roman nobility became Ireland’s “Holy Boy.”
How St. Patrick changed Ireland—and the church
We tell the story of St. Patrick not because it is historical, but because it contains truth.
An Easter slave raid inspired this saint to pursue justice
St. Patrick spoke with fire on behalf of people who were oppressed.
Image: St. Patrick Pray for Your Children, print via Wikimedia Commons
