St. Patrick dies

On March 17, 461, St. Patrick dies at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland. Today, the late Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland is honored with the holiday of St. Patrick’s Day on the anniversary of his death.

How St. Patrick died is unknown, though he is believed to be in his 70s at the time of his death. Some sources report he was born in 385, but others state it was 387.

Much of what is known about Patrick’s legendary life comes from the Confessio, a book he wrote during his last years. Born in Roman Britain (likely in what is now Wales, western England or southern Scotland) to a well-to-do Christian family of Roman citizenship, Patrick was captured and likely enslaved at age 16 by Irish marauders. For the next six years, he worked as a herder in Ireland, turning to a deepening religious faith for comfort. Following the counsel of a voice he heard in a dream one night, he escaped and found passage on a ship to Britain, where he was eventually reunited with his family.

According to the Confessio, while in Britain Patrick had another dream, in which an individual named Victoricus gave him a letter, entitled “The Voice of the Irish.” As he read it, Patrick seemed to hear the voices of Irishmen pleading him to return to their country and walk among them once more. After studying for the priesthood, Patrick was ordained a bishop. He arrived in Ireland around 432 and began preaching the Gospel, converting many thousands of Irish people and building churches around the country. After 40 years of living in poverty, teaching, traveling and working tirelessly, Patrick died in Saul, where he had built his first church.

Since that time, countless legends have grown up around Patrick. The patron saint of Ireland is said to have baptized hundreds of people on a single day and to have used a shamrock to describe the Holy Trinity. In art, he is often portrayed trampling on snakes, in accordance with the belief that he drove those reptiles out of Ireland. In reality, research has found snakes were not in the country to begin with.

For centuries, the Irish have observed the anniversary of St. Patrick’s death as a religious holiday by attending church in the morning and celebrating with food and drink in the afternoon. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland but in what is now the United States. Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on March 17, 1601, in the Spanish colony of Florida under the direction of the colony’s Irish vicar, Ricardo Artur.

More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched in Boston in 1737 and in New York City on March 1762. As the years went on, the parades became a show of unity and strength for persecuted Irish American immigrants then evolved into a popular celebration of Irish American heritage. The party went global in 1995 when the Irish government began a large-scale campaign to market St. Patrick’s Day as a way of driving tourism and showcasing Ireland’s many charms to the rest of the world.

For much of the 20th century, pubs in Ireland were actually closed on St. Patrick’s Day due to its religious status. These days, March 17 is a day of international celebration, as millions of people around the globe put on their best green clothing to drink beer, watch parades and toast the luck of the Irish.