St. Patrick, Missionary to Ireland
Kilbennan St. Benin's Church Window Green beer, parades, corned beef and cabbage, wearing green. It appears everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. Like many holidays, St. Patrick’s Day has become known more for its secular activities, while the reason the Christian church observes this day fades in memory. On March 17 th , the Church remembers and thanks the blessed Trinity for St. Patrick, Missionary to Ireland. As we consider Patrick’s life, it is hard to separate fact from fiction. Historian Stephen Neill remarks: “Much in [Patrick’s] life history is obscure, and later legend has confused still more the scanty data which we have from Patrick’s own pen.” One of those legends would have it that Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland into the sea. Another has him using a shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity, three persons in one God, to an unbeliever. There is also a legend that Patrick and his company were miraculously spared from death in ambush when those lyin...