The Saint Behind the Shamrocks

St. Patrick is not the patron saint of alcohol consumption. He did not drink green beer and likely did not drive snakes from Ireland.

So who is this man hidden behind a shroud of shamrocks?

“We have very few historical details about his life, yet he has retained prominence throughout history,” explains Professor Patricia Sullivan of the Theology Department.

The details of St. Patrick’s life are disputed, but historians have established a few facts.

Born on the island of Britain in 385 A.D., Patrick’s first steps on Ireland’s lush soil were as a captured slave. While enslaved, he labored in Irish fields, where he began to experience an intense religious conversion. In his writing, St. Patrick describes hearing the voice of God, urging him to escape slavery.

In pursuit of freedom, Patrick traveled to Gaul, where he received protection and religious instruction from various monasteries. His spiritual education was driven by his desire to bring Christianity to Ireland. Despite the failures of previous missionaries, Patrick was ordained a bishop and sent to Ireland to convert the island’s five kingdoms of pagan worshipers.

The Encyclopedia of Saints notes, “His two primary achievements were the promotion of a native clergy and the careful integration of the Christian faith with native Irish-Celtic culture.” Patrick understood the Irish peoples’ pagan tradition and unlike his predecessors, he attempted to weave Irish culture with Christianity. Historically, the sun was a fundamental symbol of Irish culture; instead, of eliminating the sun’s cultural significance, Patrick combined the sun and the Christian cross to form the Celtic cross.

A lack of concrete facts translates to a number of popular legends regarding St. Patrick and March 17.

It is unlikely that Patrick physically drove snakes out of Ireland; rather, Professor Sullivan explains, the legend is a “metaphor for Patrick’s missionary influence.” By the time of his death, he had successfully converted the majority of Ireland’s pagan population.

The shamrock is an emblem of Irish pride, but its popularity is linked to the ministry of St. Patrick. According to legend, Saint Patrick used a clover to explain the Trinity. More accurately, the emergence of the shamrock represented the renewal of spring.

Despite his missionary triumph, Church records do list the miracles attributed to St. Patrick. “St. Patrick was canonized before the official process of canonization began in the 16th century. Today the process is more tightly regulated,” says Professor Sullivan.

St. Patrick’s popularity is deserved, but recently his religious significance has been lost amid March 17 festivities.

Professor Sullivan says, “St. Patrick’s Day has become overlaid with legend and the cultural associations have developed non-religious tradition.” She says attending Mass is a simple way to commemorate the Feast of St. Patrick.

On March 17, Mass will be celebrated on campus, in the Lady Chapel at 11:30 a.m.

The hype surrounding St. Patrick’s Day is a relatively recent phenomena. In fact, pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day until the 1970s. Today, the Irish government plans large-scale celebrations and parades to exhibit Irish culture to the rest of the world. “I’m guessing that St. Patrick’s Day is pretty much celebrated the same way in the U.S. as in Ireland,” says Gareth Brown, a study abroad student from Northern Ireland.

New York City hosted the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in 1762 when Irish soldiers in the British army gathered in the city’s streets. Not only has the parade remained a tradition, it is also the largest in the world.

Irish fever quickly spread to other U.S. cities, including Chicago where the river is tinted with green vegetable dye to celebrate the occasion. Locally, pubs along Manchester and Boston parade routes open their doors early, serving traditional Irish fare and green beer.

It is important to celebrate Irish heritage on March 17, but it is equally imperative to acknowledge St. Patrick’s Catholic significance.

So next Tuesday, grab yourself a pint of Guinness, but don’t forget to cheer “sláinte” to the memory of St. Patrick!

Photo credit: Flickr photo