Saint Patrick (died 493) was a Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop who spread Catholicism through northern and western Ireland. He is today celebrated as the "Apostle of Ireland," the island's patron saint.
Biography[]
Patricius was born in Glannoventa, Sub-Roman Britain (now Ravenglass, Cumbria), the son of a Romano-British tax collector. He was enslaved by Irish pirates at the age of 16 and was held captive in Ireland for six years before developing his Christian faith while in Dal Riata captivity. He was also introduced to Irish culture by his captors, and he worked as a shepherd before escaping after six years in captivity and fleeing back to Britain. There, he received a vision calling on him to come back to Ireland and convert the island to Christianity. He landed at Wicklow and proceeded to baptize thousands of poeple in northern and western Ireland, later becoming a bishop in the west and ordaining subordinate clerics. He refused to accept gifts from kings, leaving him legally without protection and resulting in his occasional beating, imprisonment and robbery. He died in 493.