Many legends and stories have been created about Patrick, but very little about his life can actually be confirmed. The most reliable information about Patrick’s life comes from two of his writings that have survived down through the centuries. The first is his Letter to Coroticus, a letter written to condemn a British tyrant and his soldiers who had been abducting people from Patrick’s Christian community. The second document is Patrick’s Confession, which he wrote toward the end of his life as a spiritual biography to defend his ministry among the Irish people. From these documents there are at least five interesting facts about Patrick’s life that can be discovered.
Patrick Was Not From Ireland
While Patrick is closely tied to Ireland because of his missionary work on that island, he tells the readers of his Confession that he was born in the village of Bannavem Taburniae, an unknown location that was probably along the British coast or in Wales (some have suggested Scotland or Brittany in northern France, but these locations are unlikely). The date of Patrick’s birth year is unknown, though many scholars have estimated that he was born around 385.
Patrick appears to have come from a somewhat wealthy family, and his father and grandfather were very involved in the church of their area. Patrick explains, however, that he was not a Christian during these early years of his life. As a young man who was slightly less than sixteen years of age, Patrick and others were kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery on the Emerald Isle. This would have been the first time he traveled to Ireland.
Patrick’s Initial Stay in Ireland Was Not Pleasant
As a slave in Ireland, Patrick faced many hardships. He endured hunger, harsh weather with little shelter, loneliness, and many other hardships as he was forced to serve as a shepherd for the sheep of an unsympathetic taskmaster.
In this difficult situation, Patrick’s isolation and fear inspired him to reach out to the God that his father and grandfather served. With no others to rely on for assistance, Patrick began to pray to God and to seek His leading. In his desperation, Patrick wrote that he prayed over one hundred times each day.
Finally, after six years in slavery, Patrick was convinced that the Lord was calling him to escape from his imprisonment and flee to the coast where he hoped to find a ship to take him home. The journey was not easy and Patrick faced additional difficulties throughout the journey, but he eventually returned home to his family.
“The journey was not easy and Patrick faced additional difficulties throughout the journey, but he eventually returned home to his family.”
Patrick’s Courageous Return to Ireland
Once he arrived home safely, Patrick committed his life to a career of ministry to Christ and His church. While preparing himself for Christian service, Patrick had a dream in which a man named Victoricus appeared to him and gave him a letter called “The Voice of the Irish.” As he began to read the letter, he seemed to hear the united voice of the Irish people saying, “We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us.”
Though his past experience with Ireland had been the unpleasant ordeal of being a slave, Patrick committed himself to becoming a Christian missionary to Ireland after he awakened from his dream. He is thought to have returned to Ireland around 432, where it’s believed that he used a local farmer’s barn to establish his first church in Ireland.
Patrick’s Work in Ireland
Patrick’s ministry in Ireland was no easy task. He traveled throughout the island, facing opposition from pagan religious leaders as well as local rulers and chieftains who objected to Patrick’s call for the people of Ireland to give their total allegiance to Christianity. On several occasions, Patrick’s enemies had him imprisoned and even threatened his life.
Nevertheless, Patrick’s ministry was incredibly successful, resulting in thousands of Irish people becoming Christians and many churches being formed. Years after his death, a myth developed about Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland. In reality, there never were any snakes in Ireland. Patrick was so successful in his efforts to convert pagans to Christianity, however, that later generations described Patrick’s ministry as a metaphorical elimination of the serpents (pagans) from the Emerald Isle.
“Patrick’s ministry was incredibly successful, resulting in thousands of Irish people becoming Christians and many churches being formed.”
Patrick’s Commitment
The island of Ireland was a rough and uncultured place during Patrick’s time there in the fifth century. There was little comfort or civilization, and his life was repeatedly in danger. Patrick stated that he would like to return to the security of his homeland and was once even summoned by the church to return to England. Believing that God had called him to his ministry in Ireland, however, Patrick explained that he was determined to remain in Ireland throughout the duration of his life and to continue his missionary work among the Irish people.
While there is no definitive information about the date of Patrick’s death, tradition says that he died on March 17, the date on which St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated today. The year of his death is questionable, but many suggest it was around 461. Tradition also tells us that Patrick’s body was buried in the Irish community of Downpatrick, not far from the site where he established his first church in an Irish barn.
What We Can Learn from Patrick
While the man that we traditionally refer to as St. Patrick was never formally canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic tradition (he lived before the Catholic process of canonization had formed), his work for Christ and the church was widely recognized by the time of his death and his sainthood was popularly acknowledged. So prominent was he as a Christian leader in Ireland, that a number of later legends (e.g., driving the snakes from Ireland, using the shamrock to teach the Trinity, etc.) emerged to sanctify his reputation. Ironically, Patrick’s ministry and work are worthy of remembrance without the need of embellishments.
In his book, The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West…Again, George H. Hunter III identifies Patrick as the missionary-progenitor of the Celtic Christian Movement that quickly and successfully won pagan Ireland to Christianity and advanced the gospel throughout much of Europe. The Celtic plan for evangelism that Patrick pioneered, according to Hunter, saw conversion as a gradual journey, differing from the Roman belief that conversion was a momentary decision. Patrick’s evangelistic model, Hunter explains, was to build authentic relationships that stressed belonging before belief and the practice of incarnational missions in which the lost can see the gospel lived out in daily life.
“Patrick’s evangelistic model, Hunter explains, was to build authentic relationships that stressed belonging before belief and the practice of incarnational missions in which the lost can see the gospel lived out in daily life.”
Hunter concludes by noting that modern Western society is growing remarkably similar to pagan Ireland before Patrick. His suggestion is that the modern church adopt the methods of evangelism forged by Patrick to again win a pagan culture to Christ.
So, this year, as we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, perhaps we can use the occasion to follow Patrick of Ireland’s model: Celebrate (appropriately) with the lost around us, create a sense of belonging for our pagan society, and live out the gospel in a manner that will prayerfully and hopefully influence the lost around us to become followers of Jesus.
