Saint Patrick (Latin: Patricius) was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the Apostle of Ireland. He was active as a missionary in Ireland around AD 450. He is generally credited with being the first bishop of Armagh, Primate of Ireland. When he was about 16, he was captured from his home in Great Britain, and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a Catholic priest, he returned to Ireland to bring Christianity to the pagans. By AD 600, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patricks Day is observed on 17 March, the date of his death. It is celebrated inside and outside Ireland as a religious and cultural holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation; it is also a celebration of Ireland itself.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 14:33:45 +0000