The Real Story Behind St. Patrick’s Day

In my hometown, St. Patrick’s Day was a really big deal! We all wore green to school, and if you forgot? Let’s just say I have not-so-great memories of being pinched ALL. DAY. LONG. That night, our local Irish pub hosted a huge beer festival and parade. Everyone gathered downtown to watch the great processions of men in kilts playing bagpipes. It was so much fun!

But here’s the thing, in all of those years celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, I had no idea that he was a real person, and that his story was quite touching.

Who Was St. Patrick?

St. Patrick grew up in the 400s in Britain, born into a family of devout Christians. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest. When he was just sixteen years old, his village was raided by Irish marauders and he was kidnapped, taken by ship to Ireland, where he became a slave for six years.

During that time, Patrick was forced to herd sheep for a local chieftain, living in isolation with very little food or clothing.

Even though Patrick had been raised in a Christian home, he wrote in his Confessions that he didn’t really know God, but that through his sufferings in Ireland, he began to think about God, then speak to God, until he was praying hundreds of prayers day and night. He says it was the only thing that kept him going through those brutal years.

The Escape

After six long years of slavery, Patrick heard a voice while sleeping, telling him he was about to depart for his homeland and that a ship was ready for him. He escaped from his slavemaster, fled two hundred miles, and convinced a ship’s captain to give him passage. Three days later, he was back on the shores of his homeland.

He was eventually reunited with his family, and, as you can imagine, there was much rejoicing.

The Return

Patrick continued his life of prayer and began studying scripture. He traveled to France, where he studied and entered the priesthood under the guidance of the missionary Saint Germain, and was ordained a deacon by the Bishop of Auxerre around 418 AD.

During this time, Patrick had a vision in which he heard the voice of the Irish saying to him, “We beg you, holy servant boy, to come and walk again among us.” He knew he was being called to return.

He left Ireland a slave, but he would return as a missionary.

In 432 AD, he was ordained as a bishop and sent by Pope Celestine I to Ireland to spread the gospel to non-believers while also supporting the small community of Christians already living there. Patrick already knew the Irish language and their customs, which helped him greatly. For the rest of his life, he traveled throughout Ireland, sharing the good news and converting thousands to the Christian faith.

As we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, let us give thanks that God is always with us, even amid tremendous hardship. St. Patrick is a powerful example of how God can take our sufferings and use them to help others, bringing them out of darkness into His glorious light.

Ways to Celebrate

If you’d like a meaningful way to celebrate with your family this year, here are a few easy ideas.

Read Genesis 50:20 with your family and discuss how similar Joseph and St. Patrick were, both suffered deeply, and both were used by God to save those around them.

Read or listen to “St. Patrick’s Breastplate,” a beautiful prayer of protection believed to have been written by St. Patrick, later set to music and now a beloved hymn. Google the words or pull it up on Spotify and go over it with your kids.

Make Irish soda bread! No rising required, quick to make, and perfect for little helpers in the kitchen.

the recipe -

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Irish Soda Bread

• 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants or raisins

• 4 tablespoons sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt

• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch diced

• 1¾ cups cold buttermilk, shaken

• 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest

• 1 cup dried currants or raisins

  
  

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix it at low speed until the butter is mixed with the flour.

Lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest in a measuring cup with a fork. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants with one tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature