What You Didn’t Know…

St. Patrick’s Day

Did you know St. Patrick’s Day is NOT an Irish holiday? It’s actually a catholic holiday celebrating St. Pātricius (Patrick), who wasn’t even Irish. St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain. His family was catholic, but he was not. According to his writings, “The Confession of Saint Patrick,” he was captured by a group of Irish pirates and was a prisoner for six years. During that time of being a prisoner his faith in God grew. Once he escaped and returned home, he told his parents he would return to Ireland to become a missionary and teach about God. He went to monasteries to study and eventually became a priest and then later a Bishop. He then went back to Ireland and began to preach and convert people into Catholics. As per the three-leaf clover, it is believed that he used the three-leaf clover (because Ireland has so many of them) as a demonstration when teaching about YHWH (God, the father), Yeshua (Jesus Christ His son), and Ruach Ha Kadesh (The Holy Spirit). Although no one knows exactly when he was born and died, they believe his death was on March 17, 461, of natural causes. Because Patrick was the first to introduce Catholicism to Ireland, the catholic church decided to celebrate him on March 17^th, the day he died, as an anniversary celebrating him for his missionary works. Although he introduced Catholicism to Ireland this holiday is still not considered an Irish holiday, which is why it is not celebrated in Ireland. It is indeed a catholic holiday celebrating a catholic priest.