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St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, was born about 387 A.D. at Bannavem Tabernise, variously assigned to England, Scotland, France or Italy, of Calpurnius and his wife, Conchessa. He died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, March 17, 461 A.D. At the age of sixteen he was captured by Irish raiders and brought to Ireland where he was sold as a slave to Milchu of Dalaradia (County Antrim). For six years he tended flocks in the valley of the Braid and the slopes of Slemish, near the present town of Ballymena. Patrick, the slave, prayed constantly and his Faith grew within him, He acquired a facility with the Celtic language, learned the political framework of Ireland, and from his master, a druidic priest, came to know Druidism, the pagan religion of Ireland. At the end of six years he escaped to Westport on the northwest coast and found a ship to Britain, and thence home. He is said to have studied at the monastery of St. Martin of Tours and on the island of Lerins, off Cannes, from 412-415, and was ordained a priest by St. Germanus (Germain) of Auxerre, under whom he worked for some years. St. Germain was commissioned by the Holy See to combat the heresy of Pelagianism in Britain and chose Patrick as a companion. In Britain he had a vision of some youths of Focluth crying yo him: "O holy youth, come back to Erin and walk once more amongst us". Pope St. Celestine I had commissioned Palladius as a missionary to Ireland, but he was apparently frightened by a Wicklow chieftain, and abandoned his mission to die among the Picts of Northern Britain a year later. Patrick was chosen to be his successor. It is said that Pope St. Celestine I bestowed the name PATRICK on him: Patercius or Patricius (Pater Civium) meaning "Father of the People". Patrick was consecrated bishop in 432 either by St. Germain of Auxerre or St. Maximus of Turin, Italy. Probably in the spring of 433 Patrick and his companions landed at the mouth of the Vantry River near Wicklow Head, and intending to visit his old master, Milchu, went north along the coast to the mouth of the River Boyne. Heading inland he was stopped by a chieftain, Dichu, whom Patrick converted, and from whom he received a small barn, which became the first church in Ireland. Going on toward Slemish, he heard that his old master at Dalaradia, upon hearing of Patrick's approach, set fire to his house and perished in the flames apparently a suicide. After this incident some say that Patrick went to Ulster, others that he returned to Saul, where his first church was. He heard that the High-King of Ireland, Leoghaire, had called a meeting of all Irish chieftains at Tara in Meath. Thinking that this was an opportunity to address the assembled chiefs, Patrick set out for Tara to attend the meeting, which was set for Easter Sunday, March 26, 433. The King had decreed that no fires were to be kindled in all Ireland until the druids had lighted their fire on Tara, the morning of March 26. Patrick arrived at the Hill of Slane at the opposite end of the valley from Tara on March 25, Holy Saturday, and the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary., and in celebrating the Easter Vigil ceremonies, lighted the Paschal Fire, which was seen from Tara, incurring the death penalty for this act. The druids informed the King of the fire on the Hill of Slane, and told him that if this fire were not extinguished that night, the flame would never be extinguished in Ireland. The King and his men with the druids came to Slane, but neither could they extinguish the Pascal Fire nor punish Patrick for having violated the royal command. On Easter Sunday, Patrick came to Tara in his episcopal robes and confounded the demoniacal power of the druids and received from King Leoghaire permission to teach Catholicism in Ireland. The order of Patrick's missionary efforts is not certain. Some say that from Saul he went to Ulster, then to Tara in Meath, then to Leitrim, then Connaught, returning to Ulster, then to Leinster, Meath and Munster. The other sequence finds him starting from Saul to Tara in Meath, beginning the conversion of Meath, followed by seven years in Connaught, then to Ulster, followed by Meath, Leinster and finally Munster. The Annals of Ulster, relate that the Primatial See of Armagh was founded in 444 by Patrick, and it is recorded that in 440 he was given a piece of land, the site of the Cathedral of Armagh. In all of his journeys it is said that he performed numerous miracles (none of which mentions the driving out of snakes from Ireland). He left a string of bishoprics behind him, and he retrod his steps the length and breadth of Ireland, converting, revisiting, consolidating and revisiting again. From time to time he would draw aside for a spiritual retreat. One of his favorite places was the island in Lough Dergh, called St. Patrick's Purgatory, because of the severe penances Patrick inflicted on himself. Even today one who visits this sanctuary can only do so by observing strick fast and silence. Another place was Croagh Patrick in Connaught a mountain where Patrick prayed for Ireland during forty days and forty nights toward the end of his life. In his first visit to Connaught Patrick converted Ethne and Fedelm, two daughters of High-King Leoghaire. The use of the shamrock to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity on this occasion is called by some an accretion of a later date. The conversion of Ireland was no triumphal procession. There was no persecution of the infant church, but Patrick himself was the object of attack by druids and enemies of the True Faith. Twelve times he and his companions were seized and carried off, and on one occasion condemned to death. Patrick's chariot driver was slain in an ambush set for Patrick. When Patrick died, not all of Ireland was converted to Catholicism, but the groundwork had been laid. Patrick had consecrated 350 bishops in Ireland and had established the dioceses in which he placed them. There is a story that as death approached, Patrick in vision saw Ireland aglow with the light of Faith, and it continued for centuries, but faded into only a glimmer. Patrick prayed that the Faith would never die out, and God sent an angel to tell him: "Fear not: your apostolate shall never cease." Patrick died March 17, 461 at Saul and was buried in a fort two miles distance from his first church, over which rose later the Cathedral of Down. Four stamps were issued on October 6, 1961 to commemorate the 1500th anniversary of the death of St. Patrick. Two values (10 & 40 Lire) show an ancient medieval statue of St. Patrick, and bear the inscription "St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland". The other two values (15 & 150 Lire) show the "Sanctuary of St. Patrick" at Lough Dergh. They were designed by Edmondo Pizzi, printed by rotogravure on paper with the second crossed keys watermark and are perforated 14. This article originally appeared in Vatican Notes, Volume XIV, Number 5, pp. 11-12, March - April 1966. It has been lightly edited. The original article may be accessed by clicking on the link below. REFERENCES: Technical Details: Scott Catalogue - 313 - 316 Date Issued - 06 October 1961 Face Value - 10 l, 15 l, 40 l, 150 l Perforations - 14 Printer - Instituto Poliguafico di Stato, Rome |
| (From Vatican Notes Volume XIV, Number 5, March - April 1966, Pages 11 & 12) |
