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 Saint Patrick: 1500th Anniversary of Death Scott 313-316 (1961) Saint Patrick is the Apostle and Patron of Ireland, known for his missionary activity to convert the polytheistic druids of 5th century Ireland. His dates are approximate, ca. 387/389 to ca. 461. Some authorities state that he is sometimes conflated with St. Palladius (ca. 408/431 to ca. 457/461) who preceded Patrick to Ireland and then was sent to the Scots in England’s northeast. The reason ‘hard facts’ are difficult to determine is because of few reliable sources and the various traditions (accurate or not) that have arisen over the intervening fifteen centuries. However, there is no doubt that Patrick was an energetic missionary to Ireland. The son of a British deacon, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates in 406 and spent six years as a shepherd where his faith intensified. By 415 he was reunited with his family in Britain. From approximately 417 to 429 Patrick studied in France under the Bishop of Auxerre (Burgandy) and in 431 he was sent by Pope St. Celestine I to Ireland as an evangelist. He may have travelled to Rome on one or two occasions. For the next 30 years he built 300 churches and baptised over 120,000 persons, mostly in the north and east of Ireland. Armagh was established as Ireland's patriarchal see in 454. Patrick died on 17 March 461 and buried, at his request, in an unmarked grave near Saul and/or Downpatrick. Historian J. B. Bury writes: “Patrick did three things. He organized Christianity which already existed. He converted kingdoms which were still pagan, especially in the west. And he brought Ireland into connection wih the church of the [Roman] empire, making Ireland formally part of universal Christendom.”St. Patrick was never formally canonized by the Church as there was no formal process for canonization until the end of the 11th century. Nonetheless, the cult of St. Patrick spread from Ireland throughout the world, in great part as a result of Irish emigration. Vatican City issued a set of stamps (shown above) marking the 1,500th anniversary of his death in 1961. Article Link: Below is a reprint of an extended article on Saint Patrick that appeared in Vatican Notes in 1966, providing more detail into this popular Saint on his Feast Day. |
