Patrick, Messenger To The Emerald Isle

Patrick, Messenger To The Emerald Isle
John R. Petrilli

Shamrocks, pots o’ gold, wearin’ ‘o’ the green, and leprechauns. These are some of the colorful traditions attached to the mid-March festivities that commemorate Saint Patrick’s Day. But, like so many holidays, the namesake often gets lost in the celebration. Such is the case with St. Patrick. So just who was this man ? Was he simply a legendary figure, or actually a real person ? Years of personal curiosity culminated in my attempt to get to the bottom of this story.

My search led me to a book written by Patrick himself entitled, « TheConfessions of St. Patrick ». What I discovered was quite surprising and very inspirational. The man the world has come to know as Saint Patrick was born near the end of the fourth century A.D. His father was a British-born Roman citizen who served as a tax collector as well as a church deacon. Patrick’s grandfather was a parish minister. Yet, with all of this rich religious heritage, young Patrick consisitently turned his back on God.

At the age of sixteen Patrick’s life took a dramatic turn. He was kidnapped by the crew of a slaveship and carried off to Ireland along with thousands of other young British boys. He was cast out into a desolate field in the backwoods of Ireland where he would spend the next six years of his life as a slave on a livestock farm. In a revealing personal account of his life, Patrick repeatedly refers to this time of enslavement as the beginning of his spiritual awakening.

In his own words :

« I was taken as a captive to Ireland, and there the Lord opened my eyes to my unbelief. After I had come to Ireland it was then that I was made to shepherd the flocks day after day. And as I did so, I would pray all the time right through the day. More and more the love of God and the fear of Him grew strong within me. »

In the sixth year of his captivity Patrick had a prophetic dream in which he successfully escaped from his slave owner and returned to Britain. The dream became reality shortly thereafter, as he travelled 200 miles by foot to the Irish coastline and boarded a vessel headed for the British Isles. Upon his return to Britain, Patrick took up theological studies to prepare for the Christian ministry. After completing his studies, his family and friends begged him to stay within the comfortable confines of Britain – but another Divine encounter convinced him to do otherwise. In this second dream God called Patrick to return to the Irish people as a missionary.

He describes this encounter as follows :
« I had a vision in my dream of a man who seemed to come from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried countless letters, one of which he handed over to me. I read aloud where the letter began : ‘The voice of the Irish’. As I began to read these words, I seemed to hear the voice of the same men who lived beside the forest of Foclut in Ireland. They seemed to shout aloud to me as with one voice, ‘ Holy broth of a boy, we beg you, come back and walk once more among us.’ »

Patrick answered the call, leaving the comforts and privileges of British life to take the gospel to the spiritually needy people of Ireland. He overcame tremendous opposition by pagan tribes including the Druids, the Scotties, and the Picts, and was used by God to win many thousands to Jesus Christ. The man we know as St. Patrick was singularly instrumental in the pioneer evangelization of northeast Ireland, and his educational work paved the way for the inception of the Celtic alphabet. But most importantly, Patrick brought to Ireland the saving message of the Cross, and, in so doing, left a lasting legacy of the Christian faith that would shape the future of the entire nation.