St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland

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Feast day: March 17  ·  c. 385 – c. 461  ·  Patron of Ireland

Behind the parades and shamrocks is a real and remarkable saint: a Roman Briton carried off to Ireland as a slave, who escaped, returned as a bishop, and won a whole nation to Christ. St. Patrick left the Church a ringing prayer of protection — the Breastplate — that still arms the soul today.

Who was St. Patrick?

Patrick was born around 385 in Roman Britain. At sixteen he was seized by Irish raiders and sold into slavery, spending six years herding sheep in a foreign land — years in which, by his own account, he turned to constant prayer. He escaped, made his way home, and might have stayed there; but in a dream he heard the people of Ireland calling him back. He returned as a missionary bishop and spent the rest of his life preaching the Gospel across the island, baptizing thousands and ordaining clergy.

His own writings — the Confessio and the Letter to Coroticus — survive, among the oldest documents of Irish Christianity. Tradition credits him with using the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. He died around 461, and Ireland has honored him ever since as her apostle.

Patron saint of Ireland

St. Patrick is the patron of Ireland and of the Irish wherever they have gone in the world — which is why his feast on March 17 is kept far beyond Ireland’s shores. He is also invoked by engineers. Beneath the celebrations, his feast is properly a holy day honoring the man who brought the faith to a people in darkness, and a day to pray for the country and the Church he served.

St. Patrick's Breastplate

An excerpt from the ancient prayer of protection known as the Lorica, traditionally attributed to St. Patrick:

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort me and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in the hearts of all who love me,
Christ in the mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name, the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same, the Three in One, and One in Three. Amen.

Frequently asked

Who was St. Patrick really?

A fifth-century Roman Briton who was kidnapped and enslaved in Ireland as a teenager, escaped, and later returned as a missionary bishop who converted much of the country to Christianity. He is the patron and apostle of Ireland.

When is the feast day of St. Patrick?

March 17, traditionally held to be the day of his death around 461. It is a holy day in Ireland and celebrated by the Irish around the world.

What is St. Patrick's Breastplate?

An ancient Irish prayer of protection, also called the Lorica, traditionally attributed to St. Patrick. It 'binds' the one who prays it to the power and presence of the Holy Trinity and of Christ on every side.

Did St. Patrick use the shamrock to teach the Trinity?

Tradition says so — that he used the three-leafed shamrock, one plant with three leaves, to explain how God is three Persons in one nature. The story is beloved even if it cannot be confirmed from his own writings.

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