Why do Scots Celebrate St. Patrick (390-460 AD)? Feast Day
of March 17
Patrick was born in Kilpatrick near Dumbarton, Strathclyde, on the west coast
of Scotland.
He was the son of Calpurnius, a deacon among the Romano-British Christians of
Scotland.
He was captured by pirates before the age of sixteen (16) and sold into
slavery in Ireland.
He escaped six (6) years later and made his way to a ship bound for his home
in Scotland.
He returned to his home in Scotland, but was called, in a dream, to return to
Ireland.
He entered the monastery of Lerins, located on a small island opposite Nice,
in France.
He was ordained a priest at Auxerre by St. Amator and guided by St. Germanus.
He returned to Ireland following the failure of another missionary, one
Palladius.
His missionary work was centered in County Armagh in the Kingdom of Ulster in
Northern Ireland.
He sought to adapt pre-Christian symbols, images and holy sites to his
ministry in Ireland.
He used the shamrock as a means of illustrating the mystery of the Holy
Trinity.
He established the Cathedral Church of Armagh in the Kingdom of Ulster in
Northern Ireland.
He succeeded in converting and baptizing members of the Irish royal family at
Tara.
He established a vibrant Christian community which, later, sent missionaries
to Scotland.
>From the Scottish Society of Indianapolis- Submitted by Ivan of Trafalgar
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