15 March 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — St. Patrick’s Day falls on Sunday this year.
Originally considered a solemn day, it took on a life of its own in the United States. According to Historian Michael Francis, the first record of a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the United States is recorded in Spain’s national archives, and that’s because it happened in the 1600s in St. Augustin, Florida, which was a Spanish colony at the time.
The holiday became popular among the Irish Diaspora here in America. According to the Census Bureau, there are over 30 million people of Irish descent living in the U.S.,
St. Patrick’s Day has moved beyond being just an Irish or even a Catholic celebration. It’s become part of American culture, but what do we know about the person behind the holiday?
St. Patrick is just one of several Irish saints who played an important role in the history of Catholicism in Ireland. However, we know very little about him, and there are questions as to whether he even actually existed.
We know he was born sometime at the end of Roman rule of Britain. He might have been born in Cumbria, in the northern part of England, or possibly even Scotland.
According to the Catholic Encylopedia, he originally came to Ireland as a slave, and it was during his captivity on the then-pagan island that he converted to Christianity. He would eventually escape but would return years later as a missionary.
We also know that he was never officially canonized by the Catholic Church. Although sainthood during that period was determined on a more local level.
The one feat most often associated with St. Patrick is his driving all the snakes out of Ireland. Today, we know he didn’t do that, but more to the point, that legend may have developed from misinterpretation.
The confusion lies in the word. St. Patrick drove out the serpents and that is something a bit different than snakes.
Serpent is a broader term, especially when referring to creatures in antiquity. Because serpent also means dragons and all manner of similar legendary beasts.
The Legend of St. Patrick and the Serpent makes that clear. What isn’t immediately clear is that the serpent isn’t even what we think it is.
Reporter Tom Prendiville wrote in the Irish Independent that it was probably a misreading of ancient text. St. Patrick likely led a group of armed missionaries against a pagan cult that used serpent symbology in their worship.
While there will likely never be a definitive answer as to what is fact or fiction regarding St. Patrick, it’s hard to deny the significance his influence had on Ireland and Catholicism. That influence has also impacted American culture, from parades to iconography like Shamrocks and Leprechauns.
To learn more about St. Patrick, both in legend and in the context of Catholicism, visit Catholic Online.