St. Patrick &Ndash; Patron Saint and The First Bishop of Ireland

A few days ago, precisely on the 18th of March, we celebrated the feast day of St. Patrick. I want to wish all who go by the name of Patrick a happy belated feast day. St. Patrick remains one of the greatest saints of the church. He was a visionary and is remembered for his missionary exploits in Ireland, a land once termed the “dark region of Britain”.

Image by infomatique via Flickr

History has it that as St. Patrick was the son of a noble family who lived in 5th century Britain. His father’s name was Caponicus; he was a noble man who wielded power in a Britain that had the Celts invading on one side, and the Saxons on another.

As a young lad, St. Patrick was fond of getting into trouble, and he would not apply himself to his studies. In those days it was forbidden for members of Christian congregations to be involved in pagan festivals. It was to one of these festivals called the Dawn festivals, that St. Patrick went o satisfy his curiosity. He ran out of luck that night as some Irish pillagers raided the area taking him and so many others captive to Ireland to be sold as slaves. St. Patrick was sold to a certain man called Luna, to tend to his sheep. At the sale, St. Patrick had tried to explain to the crowd that he was the son of a noble family in Britain, but they only mocked him.

Life as a shepherd boy was a far cry from the life of comfort St. Patrick was used to. He was faced with beatings, harsh weather, and wild animals trying to steal his sheep. It was such a sad change in fortunes. Naturally St. Patrick had questioned God and raved at him for being unfair.  It was during one of these days out tending sheep, that he had a vision. He saw a bright light and a voice from above said “St. Patrick, make peace with yourself”. From that day on he was filled with such peace that he could not describe. He became an epitome of good, and with time he became known in the Irish village as “the Holy youth”. He gradually began to accept has lot as penance for his past sins. After six years in Ireland, he received another vision, this time the voice told him that a ship was ready to take him home, this ship would be found at the river the next day. And so St. Patrick returned home to parents who had given up hope of ever seeing their son again.