Did St. Patrick Really Bring Christianity to Ireland?
Today is March 17, the day on which St. Patrick's Day is celebrated. Originating from Ireland, St. Patrick's Day celebrates Saint Patrick, a 5th-century church leader who converted Ireland to Christianity. According to tradition, the annual holiday falls on the day of his death, March 17, 461. Although many celebrate the holiday, whether by commemorating Patrick himself or through heavy drinking, it is important to understand who Patrick is and how a holiday would be established under his name.
A Great Britain native, Patrick was sent to Ireland after being enslaved as a teenager by pirates. During that time, he had converted to Christianity and is typically credited for bringing the Christian faith to Ireland. However, Christianity had already existed in Ireland before Patrick arrived on the Emerald Isles, as evidenced by Pope Celestine's selection of Palladius to become Ireland's new bishop in 431, a year before Patrick would travel to Ireland.
"[Saints] Albeus, Declan, Ibar, and Kiaran Saigir ... preached separately in different parts of Ireland, which was their native country, before the mission of St. Patrick," the Rev. Alban Butler wrote in his book, The Lives of the Saints.
"St. Kiaran Saigir (who is commemorated on March 5) preceded St. Patrick in preaching the gospel to the Ossorians and was 75 years of age on St. Patrick's arrival in Ireland. Hence it is easy to understand what is said of St. Palladius, that he was sent bishop to the Scots believing in Christ: though the number of Christians among them must have been then very small."
One legend, which has been debunked, states that Patrick miraculously banned snakes from Ireland even though there is no snake population in Ireland.
"Snakes likely couldn't reach Ireland," noted a 2014 National Geographic article. "Other reptiles didn't make it either, except for one: the common or viviparous lizard. Ireland's only native reptile ..."
Although Patrick is known for spreading the Christian faith in Ireland, he is also credited for writing the poem "The Lorica of Saint Patrick" or "Saint Patrick's Breastplate." In 1889 by Cecil Alexander adapted the poem into a hymn titled "I Bind Unto Myself Today," with Charles V. Stanford writing the melody.
Patrick is believed to have died on March 17, 461, which would later come to be celebrated as St. Patrick's Day. He reportedly died in Saul, Downpatrick, which is in the present-day Republic of Northern Ireland and is where he erected his first church.
Despite having the title of saint alongside his name, Patrick is not officially recognized as a saint when compared to St. Paul of Tarsus, St. Francis of Assisi, or Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
"The modern canonization procedure was not developed by the Church until about the 13th century," said historian William Carroll in an earlier interview with the Catholic network EWTN.
"Before that, a popular veneration of a saint would develop, which the Church eventually approved or disapproved, often not specifically declaring approval or disapproval, but just allowing it to continue if they approved of it."
"The modern canonization procedure was not developed by the Church until about the 13th century," said historian William Carroll in an earlier interview with the Catholic network EWTN.
"Before that, a popular veneration of a saint would develop, which the Church eventually approved or disapproved, often not specifically declaring approval or disapproval, but just allowing it to continue if they approved of it."
Photo Credit: ©K. Mitch Hodge/Unsplash
Originally published March 17, 2025.
