About Saint Patrick

St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated in the United States since the early 1700s. March 17th is honored as the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick. Traditionally, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated as a holy day in Ireland. Early Irish immigrants to the United States took the day to celebrate their roots and their homeland. Today, everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.St. Patrick was the son of a Roman official, Calpurnius, living probably in Wales. As a boy of sixteen, Patrick was captured by raiders and sold to an Irish chieftain, Milchu. He spent years in slavery. He escaped following a dream in which a voice told him a ship would be waiting to take him to his own country. After a journey of 200 miles he found the ship, and was eventually able to return to his family. One night, in a dream, he heard voices calling him back to Ireland. The year 432 is the traditional date for Patrick’s return to Ireland.Irish annals give the date of Patrick’s death as 493, but an earlier date of 461 seems more likely. Tradition says he died at Saul and was buried at nearby Downpatrick.

(From A Little Book of Celtic Saints by Martin Wallace, illustrated by Ann MacDuff)