386–461

Who Was Saint Patrick?

The man who would come to be known as Saint Patrick was a missionary that helped spread Christianity throughout Ireland during the 5th century. Much remains unknown about his life, including his birth name, but British-born Patrick became a devout Christian during his six-year enslavement in Ireland. He escaped only to return to Ireland later in life as a missionary, combining Irish pagan beliefs with Christian sacrament in his teachings. A religious figure within the Christian and Catholic faiths, he died around 461 AD and later became the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick is annually honored throughout the world on his feast day, March 17.

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Quick Facts

NAME: Saint Patrick
BORN: circa 386 AD
DIED: circa 461 AD
BIRTHPLACE: Britain
FEAST DAY: March 17

Early Life

Saint Patrick was born in Britain circa 386 AD. Much of his life is unknown to historians and can’t be verified, though some sources have listed his birth name as Maewyn Succat, with the name Patrick later taken on during his religious journeys or ordainment.

Enslavement in Ireland

When Patrick was 16 years old, he was captured by Irish pirates. They brought him to Ireland, where he was sold into slavery in Dalriada. There, his job was to tend sheep. Patrick’s master, Milchu, was a high priest of Druidism, a pagan sect that held major religious influence over the country at the time.

Patrick came to view his enslavement as God’s test of his faith. During his six years of captivity, he became deeply devoted to Christianity through constant prayer. He saw the children of pagan Ireland reaching out their hands to him in a vision and grew increasingly determined to convert the Irish to Christianity.

Freedom and Religious Calling

Around 408 AD, the idea of escaping enslavement came to Patrick in a dream, in which a voice promised him he would find his way home to Britain. Eager to see the dream materialize, Patrick convinced some sailors to let him board their ship.

After three days of sailing, he and the crew abandoned the vessel in France and wandered, lost, for 28 days—covering 200 miles of territory in the process—with Patrick ultimately reuniting with his family.

A free man once again, Patrick went to Auxerre, France, where he studied and entered the priesthood under the guidance of the missionary Saint Germanus. He was ordained a deacon around 418 AD by the Bishop of Auxerre (likely Germanus, who became the bishop in 418 AD).

As time passed, he never lost sight of his vision to convert Ireland to Christianity. In 432 AD, he was ordained as a bishop, and soon, Pope Celestine I sent Patrick to Ireland to spread the gospel to non-believers and to support the small community of Christians already living there.

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• 7 Little-Known Facts About Saint Patrick

Missionary Work

Upon his arrival in Ireland, Patrick was initially met with resistance but managed to spread Christian teachings far and wide, along with other missionaries, through preaching, writing, and performing countless baptisms.

Recognizing the history of spiritual practices already in place, Patrick incorporated nature-oriented pagan rituals into church practices. It is believed that Patrick introduced the Celtic cross, which combined a native sun-worshiping symbology with that of the Christian cross.

Throughout his missionary work, Patrick supported church officials, created councils, founded monasteries, and organized Ireland into dioceses.

Death and Legacy

Saint Patrick died circa 461 AD in Saul, Ireland, and is said to have been buried in the nearby town of Downpatrick, County Down. Saint Patrick is recognized as the patron saint of Ireland, and his writings, noted for their humble voice, include the autobiographical Confessio and Letter to Coroticus.

Many legends have been associated with his life, including that he drove away all the snakes from Ireland and that he introduced the Holy Trinity through the three-leaved shamrock. In fact, snakes have long been absent from Ireland’s natural ecosystem because of the climate and possibly the island’s watery surroundings. Saint Patrick’s reptilian banishment, then, is just the stuff of folklore. As for the Holy Trinity, there’s no definitive proof regarding how Saint Patrick taught it.

Perhaps his greatest legacy is Saint Patrick’s Day, an annual feast to honor Saint Patrick. The celebration occurs on March 17, which some cite as the date of his death, during the Christian season of Lent.

Canonization and Sainthood

While Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, he was never officially canonized by the Catholic church. There was no formal canonization process during the first millennium, so many saints from that time received the title by popular acclaim if they were martyrs or seen as extraordinarily holy.

Various Christian churches also declare that Patrick is a saint in heaven.

Saint Patrick’s Day

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Chicago celebrates Saint Patrick’s Day each year by using dye to turn the Chicago River a festive shade of green.