Saint Patrick

Life

Patrick was born in Britannia (present-day Britain), then under the rule of the Roman Empire. According to his own Confession, his father, Calpurnius, was a deacon (a cleric who assists the priest), and his grandfather, Potitus, was a priest. In another letter he states that his father was also a member of a local council. The location of his hometown, Bannavem Taburniae, has never been determined; there are only various theories.

At about the age of sixteen, he was captured by Irish raiders and carried off into slavery. After six years of tending livestock, he escaped. He confesses that before his capture he did not know the true God and that his faith grew during his captivity. He later entered the clergy and returned to Ireland as a bishop.

The chronology of his life is uncertain. The Irish annals give 432 as the year his mission began, but these records were compiled no earlier than the mid-sixth century. The year of his death is likewise disputed, with 461, 493, and other dates proposed. Earlier, in 431, Pope Celestine I is known to have sent Bishop Palladius to the Christians of Ireland.

Ministry and Achievements

• Mission to Ireland: He traveled throughout Ireland, preaching the gospel and founding churches. According to accounts, he founded hundreds of churches and converted more than 100,000 people, but these claims belong to later tradition.
• Writings: Two works written in Latin survive: the Confession (Confessio) and the Letter to Coroticus. They are regarded as the oldest surviving documents written in Ireland. The Confession also contains his defense of himself after critics, thirty years later, brought up a sin from his youth that he had confessed before becoming a deacon.
• Legends: The stories that he explained the Trinity using a three-leaf clover (the shamrock) and that he drove the snakes out of Ireland are widely known. These, however, are legends. The tradition identifying Mount Slemish as the place where he spent his years in slavery also originates in the life of Patrick written by Muirchú in the seventh century.

Influence on the Korean Church

Korean Protestant denominations have no observance dedicated specifically to Patrick; he is presented mainly as a figure in church history and the history of missions. The Korean Catholic Church commemorates him on March 17 under the name "Saint Patrichio," the Korean form of his name. The Orthodox Church in Korea also honors him on the same day. The traditional Irish hymn "Be Thou My Vision" has been translated into Korean and is sung in Korean churches; its tune name, SLANE, is an Irish place name associated with an episode in Patrick's life. The hymn's text, however, was not written by Patrick. In Korea, Saint Patrick's Day on March 17 is known mainly as an Irish cultural event.

Assessment

Patrick is remembered as a man who returned as a missionary to the land where he had once been held as a slave, and for this reason he is often cited as an example of missionary devotion. Catholic tradition emphasizes that he brought Ireland into closer connection with the European church, particularly the papacy. Historians, however, point out that what can be verified about his life is limited to the two works he himself wrote. Opinions differ widely on the dates of his birth and death and on the period of his mission, and some scholars once even doubted that he existed. One theory posits "two Patricks," holding that the careers of Palladius and Patrick became conflated. Accordingly, the prevailing view is that the historical Patrick should be distinguished from the legends added by later biographers.