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 Legends
about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid
qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to
accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of
God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.
Details of his life are uncertain. Current research places his dates of
birth and death a little later than earlier accounts. Patrick may have been
born in Dunbarton, Scotland, Cumberland, England, or in northern Wales. He
called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and a large number of
his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as
slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from
hunger and cold.
After six years, Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to
Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He
may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre,
France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to
proclaim the Good News to the Irish.
In a dream vision it seemed “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’
wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. He understood the vision to
be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those
who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the
task. He went to the west and north, where the faith had never been
preached, obtained the protection of local kings and made numerous converts.
Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in
encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their
virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into
dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually
urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.
He suffered much opposition from pagan druids, and was criticized in both
England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission.
In a relatively short time the island had experienced deeply the Christian
spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly
responsible for Christianizing Europe.
Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had
a rocklike belief in his vocation, in the cause he had espoused.
One of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confessio, above all an
act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the
apostolate.
There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to
be in strife-torn Ulster, in County Down.
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