Saint Patrick
Confesseur, évêque missionnaire en
Irlande (+ 461)
A 16 ans, Patrick, jeune gallois d'une famille chrétienne, est enlevé par des pirates et vendu comme esclave en Irlande. Il y passe six ans puis s'enfuit et retrouve ses parents. Après un séjour en France où il est consacré évêque, il se sent appelé à revenir dans cette Irlande de sa servitude pour l'évangéliser. Il y débarque en 432 et multiplie prédications et conversions dans une population dont, par force, il connaît bien les coutumes et la langue. Au Rock de Cashel, lors d'un sermon demeuré célèbre, il montra une feuille de trèfle: voilà la figure de la Sainte Trinité. Les figures de triades étaient familières à la religion celtique: le trèfle deviendra la symbole de l'Irlande. On pense que la plupart des druides devinrent moines, adoptant la religion chrétienne présentée avec tant de finesse et de conviction. Lorsque meurt Patrick, à Armagh, l'Irlande est chrétienne sans avoir compté un seul martyr et les monastères y sont très nombreux.
"Saint Patrick fut le premier Primat d'Irlande.
Mais il fut surtout celui qui sut mettre dans l'âme irlandaise une tradition
religieuse si profonde que chaque chrétien en Irlande peut à juste titre se
dire l'héritier de saint Patrick. C'était un Irlandais authentique, c'était un
chrétien authentique: le peuple irlandais a su garder intact cet héritage à
travers des siècles de défis, de souffrances et de bouleversements sociaux et
politiques, devenant ainsi un exemple pour tous ceux qui croient que le Message
du Christ développe et renforce les aspirations les plus profondes des peuples
à la dignité, à l'union fraternelle et à la vérité." (discours
au Corps diplomatique - Jean-Paul II - 29 septembre 1979)
- La saint-Patrick, fêtée le 17 mars, est le jour le plus important de l'année pour les irlandais du monde entier. Si officiellement l'Irlande n'a pas de fête nationale, la Saint Patrick en tient lieu. Vidéo: Qu'est-ce que la Saint-Patrick le 17 mars?
Mémoire de saint Patrice (Patrick), évêque. Né en
Grande Bretagne, il fut capturé par des pirates irlandais. Ayant retrouvé sa
liberté, il voulut entrer dans le clergé et retourna en Irlande, décidé à
consacrer sa vie à l'évangélisation de l'île. Ordonné évêque, il s'employa avec
adresse et succès à faire connaître le Christ, en s'adaptant aux conditions
sociales et politiques du pays et il organisa solidement l'Église, jusqu'à sa
mort à Dunum (Down), en 461.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/825/Saint-Patrick.html
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1696–1770).
San Patrizio vescovo d'Irlanda, 1746, Civic Museums of Padua
Apôtre de l'Irlande
(373-464)
Saint Patrice naquit probablement près de Boulogne-sur-Mer; on croit qu'il était le neveu de saint Martin de Tours, du côté maternel. Quoi qu'il en soit, ses parents l'élevèrent dans une haute piété. Il avait seize ans, quand il fut enlevé par des brigands et conduit providentiellement dans le pays dont il devait être l'apôtre. Patrice profita des cinq ou six ans de sa dure captivité pour apprendre la langue et les usages de l'Irlande, tout en gardant des troupeaux.
Un jour qu'il vaquait à ses occupations ordinaires, un ange lui apparut sous la forme d'un jeune homme, lui ordonnant de creuser la terre, et le jeune esclave y trouva l'argent nécessaire au rachat de sa liberté. Il passa alors en France sur un navire et se rendit au monastère de Marmoutier, où il se prépara, par l'étude, la mortification et la prière, à la mission d'évangéliser l'Irlande. Quelques années plus tard, il alla, en effet, se mettre, dans ce but, à la disposition du Pape, qui l'ordonna évêque et l'envoya dans l'île que son zèle allait bientôt transformer.
Son apostolat fut une suite de merveilles. Le roi lutte en vain contre les progrès de l'Évangile; s'il lève son épée pour fendre la tête du Saint, sa main demeure paralysée; s'il envoie des émissaires pour l'assassiner dans ses courses apostoliques, Dieu le rend invisible, et il échappe à la mort; si on présente à Patrice une coupe empoisonnée, il la brise par le signe de la Croix.
La foi se répandait comme une flamme rapide dans ce pays, qui mérita plus tard d'être appelée l'île des saints. Patrice avait peu d'auxiliaires; il était l'âme de tout ce grand mouvement chrétien; il baptisait les convertis, guérissait les malades, prêchait sans cesse, visitait les rois pour les rendre favorables à son oeuvre, ne reculant devant aucune fatigue ni aucun péril.
La prière était sa force; il y passait les nuits comme les jours. Dans la première partie de la nuit, il récitait cent psaumes et faisait en même temps deux cents génuflexions; dans la seconde partie de la nuit, il se plongeait dans l'eau glacée, le coeur, les yeux, les mains tournés vers le Ciel, jusqu'à ce qu'il eût fini les cinquante derniers psaumes.
Il ne donnait au sommeil qu'un temps très court, étendu sur le rocher, avec une pierre pour oreiller, et couvert d'un cilice, pour macérer sa chair même en dormant. Est-il étonnant qu'au nom de la Sainte Trinité, il ait ressuscité trente-trois morts et fait tant d'autres prodiges? Il mourut plus que nonagénaire, malgré ses effrayantes pénitences.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950.
.jpg)
Saint Patrick, évêque
A 16 ans, Patrick, jeune gallois d'une famille
chrétienne, est enlevé par des pirates et vendu comme esclave en Irlande. Il y
passe six ans puis s'enfuit et retrouve ses parents. Après un séjour en France
où il est consacré évêque, il se sent appelé à revenir dans cette Irlande de sa
servitude pour l'évangéliser. Il y débarque en 432 et multiplie prédications et
conversions dans une population dont, par force, il connaît bien les coutumes
et la langue. Au Rock de Cashel, lors d'un sermon demeuré célèbre, il montra
une feuille de trèfle : voilà la figure de la Sainte Trinité. Les figures de
triades étaient familières à la religion celtique : le trèfle deviendra le
symbole de l'Irlande. Lorsque meurt Patrick, à Armagh en 464, l'Irlande est
chrétienne sans avoir compté un seul martyr et les monastères y sont déjà très
nombreux.
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/voragine/tome01/052.htm
SOURCE : http://www.introibo.fr/17-03-St-Patrice-Patrick-eveque-et#nh1
Saint Patrick Mosaic 1 by Boris Anrep. Christ the King
Cathedral, Mullingar. Own Camera Work Peter Gavigan, May 2007
SAINT PATRICE
Voici peut-être une des vies les plus extraordinaires
et les moins connues que l’hagiographie puisse nous présenter. La légende n’a
rien de plus merveilleux que cette histoire. Saint Patrice occupe dans les
Bollandistes une place très considérable.
Patrice n’avait guère que douze ans quand íl fut enlevé
par des pirates et conduit en Hibernie. Là il fut fait berger et garda
les troupeaux de ses maîtres. Six ans se passèrent, et pendant ces six années,
le jeune Patrice, léger et paresseux, fut saisi par l’esprit de prière. Il
s’agenouillait sur la neige et priait, au milieu des champs, entouré des
animaux qui lui étaient confiés. Au bout de six ans, une voix mystérieuse lui
parla et lui dit: Tu vas bientôt revoir ta patrie, Patrice s’échappa, et guidé
par celui qui lui parlait, arriva á unport qu’il ne connaissait pas, y trouva
un navire qui partait, et obtint du pilote une place á bord.
Mais ce navire ayant pris terre dans un lieu inhabité,
la fatigue et la faim saisirent l’équipage qui marchait dans le désert,
cherchant un gîte et la nourriture. Tous ces hommes étaient païens, excepté
Patrice, — « Tu es chrétien, lui dit le pilote, et tu nous laisses périr ! Si
ton Dieu est puissant, invoque son nom sur nous et nous serons sauvés. »
Patrice commença ici la fonction de sa vie. Il pria, des animaux parurent,
qu'on tua et qu’on mangea,
Patrice, revenu dans son pays, fut une seconde fois
enlevé par les pirates. - « Ta captivité ne durera que deux mois », lui dit la
voix intérieure. » En effet, au bout de deux mois il fut délivré.
Mais, rendu pour la seconde fois á sa patrie et á sa
famille, Patrice ne devait pas rester longtemps immobile dans ce repos.
Une nuit, pendant son sommeil, un personnage se dressa
devant lui, tenant un volume á la main. Et sur la prendere page du volume
étaient écrits ces mots :
Voix
de l’Hibernie.
Et, dans son sommeil, Patrice croit entendre les voix
des bûcherons de Focludum, qui le suppliaient et lui disaient: Jeune homme,
revenez parmi nous; enseignez-nous les voies du Seigneur !
Le lendemain, Patrice raconta á un ami sa vision, et
son confident lui répondit : Tu seras évêque d’Hibernie.
Quelque temps après, Patrice partit avec sa famille
pour l’Armorique. Là son père et sa mère furent égorgés par les barbares. Patrice
fut gardé vivant par eux, comme un esclave agréable à posséder. Il fut pris, puis
vendu, puis arraché à ses nouveaux maîtres par des Gaulois qui venaient de les
rencontrer et de les battre. Enfin, á Bordeaux, des chrétiens rachetèrent
Patrice, qui vint frapper à la porte du monastère de Saint-Martin de Tours.
II est difficile d’imaginer une vie plus agitée, une succession
plus étrange de situations bizarres et d’événements singuliers. Voilà donc
Patrice tant de fois pris, délivré, repris, vendu, transporté et ballotté, qui
passe quatre années dans la vie cénobitique. Cependant, les visions divines lui
montraient toujours l’Hibernie comme le lieu de sa vocation. II entendait,
dit-on, les cris des enfants dans le sein de leurs mères qui l’appelaient en Hibernie.
II quitta le monastère, franchit le détroit, et vint évangéliser la cité
irlandaise de Remair. Mais telle était la voie étrange par laquelle Patrice était
conduit que, malgré ses désirs, sa sainteté, son zèle, et l’appel surnaturel
dont il était l’objet, il échoua complétement. Traité en ennemi, il fut obligé
de repasser le détroit. L’heure n’était pas venue. L’Irlande n’était pas prête.
Toujours appelé, toujours repoussé, Patrice revient en Gaule, où il passe trois
ans sous la direction de saint Gerrnain l’Auxerrois. Ensuite il alla chercher
la solitude de l’île de Lérins où il continua dans la prière les mystérieuses préparations
qu’il avait commencées dans les travaux et dans les captivités.
Enfin saint Germain l’envoya à Rome où il demanda au
pape saint Célestin la bénédiction apostololique, et il reprit á travers la
France le chemin de cette Irlande qui était pour lui la terre promise. Un évêque
d’Angleterre, nommé Amaton, lui donna la consécration épiscopale, et,
accompagné d’Analius, d’Isornius et de plusieurs autres, saint Patrice aborda
en Irlande, pendant l’été de l’an 432.
On voulut le retenir dans les Cornouailles, où il éclata
par plusieurs miracles. Mais le Seigneur lui parla en vision, et l’appela en
Irlande.
Quand il y fut installé, il se rendit á l’assemblée
générale des guerriers de l’Hibernie. A côté d'eux siégeait le collège
druidique. Patrice attaqua de front le centre religieux et le centre polilique
de la nation. Devant tous ses ennemis solennellement réunis et groupés, saint
Patrice prêcha la foi.
A dater de ce moment, les merveilles se succèdent avec
une rapidité dont l’hiagiographie offre peu d’exemples. Le roi de Dublin, le roi
de Miurow, les sept fils du roi de Connaugth embrassent le christíanisme. Cette
Irlande si stérile devint subitement féconde, au delà des espérances du missionnaire.
Cette Irlande, qui avait chassé les envoyés de Dieu, devint tout á coup l’Ile
des Saints. Ce fut dans une grange que saint Patrice célébra la première fois l’office
sur le sol irlandais.
Dans ce pays où il fut autrefois esclave méprisé des
chefs païens et barbares, saint Patrice marche maintenant en conquérant et en
triomphateur. Rois et peuples, tout vient á lui. Rois, peuples et poètes, car l’Irlande
est une des plus antiques patries de la poésie. On prétend que Patrice rencontra
Ossian.
Le barde irlandais finit, dit-on, par christianiser sa
harpe guerrière. L’Homère de l’Hibernie inclina ses vieux héros devant l’étendard du Dieu inconnu. La poésie celtique demanda aux monastères, qui
sortaient du sol foulé par Patrice, leur ombre hospitalière. Alors, dit un vieil
auteur, les chants des bardes devinrent si beaux que les anges de Dieu se
penchaient au bord du ciel pour les écouter.
Cependant, les invasions des pirates désolaient l’Irlande.
Corotic, chef de clan, désolait le troupeau de Patrice. L’évêque lui écrivit une
lettre :
« Patrice, pécheur ignorant, mais couronné évêque en
Hibernie, réfugié parmi les nations barbares, á cause de son amour pour Dieu,
j’écris de ma main ces lettres pour être transmises aux soldats du tyran... La
miséricorde divine que j’aime ne m’oblige-t-elle pas á agir ainsi, pour
défendre ceux-là même qui naguère m’ont fait captif et qui ont massacré les
serviteurs et les servantes de mon père ? » II prédit que la royauté de ses
ennemis sera moins stable que le nuage et la fumée. « En présence de Dieu et de
ses anges, ajoute-t-il, je certifie que l’avenir sera tel que je l’ai prédit. »
Quelques mois après, Corotic, frappé d’aliénation
mentale, mourait dans le désespoir.
Les ennemis de Patrice tombaient morts, ses amis ressuscitaient.
Les tombeaux semblaient un domaine sur lequel il avait droit. La vie et la mort
avaient l’air de deux esclaves qui auraient suivi ses mouvements.
A son arrivée en Irlande, les démons, dit un historien
du douzième siècle, formèrent un cercle dont ils ceignirent l’île entière, pour
lui barrer le passage, Patrice leva la main droite, fit le signe de la croix et
passa outre. Puis il renversa l’idole du Soleil á laquelle les enfants, comme á
l’ancien Molock, étaient offerts en sacrifice.
Quant au célèbre purgatoire de saint Patrice, les avis
sont partagés sur l’authenticité historique de cette grande tradition.
Du sixième au dix-septième siècle il est facile d’en suivre
la trace. Ni le temps ni l’espace n’a arrêté le bruit et l’émotion de ce
mystère : Calderon a fait un drame intitulé le Purgatoire de saint Patrice.
Il s’agit d’une caverne profonde et souterraine où
saint Patrice faisait pénitence. Plusieurs l’y suivirent ; les grands criminels
descendaient par un puits dans ces profondeurs expiatrices, pour y faire en ce
monde leur purgatoire.
La caverne était située dans une petite île du lac
Dearg, dans la province de l’Ulster occidental.
D’après la tradition, les Irlandais dirent un jour á
Patrice :
« Vous annoncez pour l’autre monde de grandes joies ou
de grandes douleurs : mais nous n’avons jamais vu ni les unes ni les autres;
vous parlez, mais nous ne voyons pas. Que sont des paroles ? Nous ne quitterons
nos habitudes et notre religion que si nous voyons de nos yeux les choses que
vous promettez. »
Patrice se mit en prière, et guidé par son ange, arriva
á sa terrible et célèbre caverne, où il vit et montra les scènes de l’autre
monde, reproduites dans celui-ci. Pour séparer ici l’histoire de la légende par
une ligne de démarcation parfaitement authentique, la critique doit se déclarer
impuissante. D’après la tradition, la caverne était divisée : d’un côté
apparaissaient les anges avec un cortège inouï de splendeurs paradisiaques, de
l’autre les spectres, les idoles, et tous les monstres qu’avait adorés l’Irlande
idolâtre suivis des terreurs et des horreurs qui ne se peuvent imaginer. On
enfermait là deux jours les pénitents volontaires qui réclamaient le
Purgatoire, et nul ne sait l’histoire exacte des quarante-huit heures qu’ils y
passaient.
On attribue au bâton de saint Patrice le pouvoir de
chasser les serpents. Ces animaux venimeux sont, à ce qu’il paraît, inconnus en
Irlande, et leur absence est attribuée á une bénédiction particulière, à la bénédiction
du bois que saint Patrice a tenu dans ses mains.
Saint Patrice et Ossian se sont rencontrés sur terre.
L’histoire possède avec certitude les principaux faits de leur vie. Mais il y a
des détails qui restent incertains, comme les contours, quand la nuit tombe. La
chronographie représente saint Patrice une harpe á la main. L’intimité du saint
et du barde est le trésor qu’elle vent confier symboliquement à la mémoire des
Irlandais.
La figure de saint Patrice ressemble un peu à ces navires qu'on voit s’éloigner du rivage. Pendant quelque temps, l’oeil les suit distinctement, mais le ciel et la mer se confondent á l’horizon, et bientôt le navire semble disparaître á la fois dans le ciel et dans la mer confondus.
Ernest HELLO. Physionomie de saints.
Saint Patrick, le trèfle et les druides
Aliénor Goudet - Publié le 16/03/21
Si de nombreux miracles lui sont attribué, il n’y a
que peu de détails sur la vie de saint Patrick. Même son nom et sa date de
naissance sont contestés. Mais une chose est certaine : ce grand saint est à
l’origine de la conversion de l’Irlande au Ve siècle.
Irlande, 432. Sur l’herbe verte de la vaste plaine de
Brega, se tient une foule impressionnante. Paysans et villageois de divers
clans se sont rassemblés. Pourtant certains sont ennemis de longue date. Mais
aucun d’eux ne semble s’en soucier. Toute leur attention est portée sur cet
homme venu de Bretagne. Il s’appelle Patrick et parle remarquablement bien la
langue de cette terre païenne. Les six ans de captivité qu’il y a passé dans sa
jeunesse n’ont jamais quitté sa mémoire. Sa vocation date de cette époque. Le
paganisme de ces peuples peureux l’avait outré.
Mais alors que Patrick prêche la parole, des galops se
font entendre. Un groupe de cinq cavaliers s’arrête près de la foule. Ils sont
vêtus de longues tuniques blanches et de manteau à capuches. Des ossements
d’animaux et autres talismans pendent à leurs ceintures. Leurs barbes et leurs
cheveux descendent jusqu’à leur taille. Lorsque les druides descendent de
leurs montures, la foule opère comme un mouvement de recul. Seul Patrick ne
bronche pas et fixe les ennemis de sa mission. Le plus vieux du groupe s’avance
vers lui.
– C’est donc toi, la langue fourchue qui vient
injurier nos Dieux, dit-il. – On ne peut injurier ce qui n’existe pas, répond
sèchement Patrick. – Prends garde, étranger. Tes blasphèmes ne seront pas
impunis.
Le druide enragé se tourne alors vers la foule qui
recule à nouveau.
– Avez-vous tous perdu la raison ? s’exclame-t-il.
Pauvres fous ! Allez vous repentir à l’arbre de Dagda si vous ne voulez pas que
les mauvais esprits emportent vos enfants.
La foule apeurée recule encore. Certains s’enfuient
déjà et Patrick sent monter en lui un sentiment de colère. C’est là le plus
grand crime de ces croyances païennes : régner par la peur. Avec leur
connaissance des herbes, les druides ont un pouvoir absolu sur les âmes
ignorantes qui ne peuvent échapper à cette emprise.
– Le Dieu unique est mille fois plus puissant que les
vents et corbeaux que vous craignez, déclare Patrick d’une voix forte. C’est
Lui-même qui les a créé et ceux-ci ne se plient qu’à Sa volonté !
La foule cesse de reculer, tandis que Patrick et les
druides s’affrontent du regard. Mais il ne s’arrête pas là. À son tour, il se
tourne vers ceux qui étaient venus l’écouter.
– Vous avez raison d’admirer la nature. Elle est
création de Dieu et l’un des plus beaux cadeaux qu’Il nous accorde. Mais elle
n’est que le fruit de l’amour du Très-Haut pour nous, ses enfants indignes. –
Sornette ! s’écrie le vieux druide. Pourquoi ton Dieu offrirait-il quoi que ce
soit à ceux qui ne l’adorent pas ? – Vos idoles règnent par la peur, mais le
Dieu unique règne par l’amour. Il ne méprise pas ceux qui ne l’adorent pas,
mais les attend. Car il est le père patient et miséricordieux de tous.
La foule se concerte, se rappelant l’histoire du fils
prodigue dont Patrick parlait ce matin même. Le Dieu unique n’attend donc pas
les offrandes et les sacrifices des hommes pour les aimer ? Personne n’a jamais
tenu tête aux druides ainsi, mais les yeux de Patrick ne montrent aucune
crainte. Ce sont plutôt les druides qui s’agitent face à son éloquence. Ivre de
rage, le vieux druide pointe alors un doigt accusateur vers le serviteur de
Dieu.
– Tu clames la grandeur du Dieu unique mais toi aussi
tu adores trois Dieux ! Le père, le fils et le saint esprit.
Patrick se tait quelques instants, laissant le vent
passer. Puis, prenant une grande inspiration, il se penche pour cueillir un
trèfle à ses pieds.
– Voyez ce shamrock, dit-il en le montrant à la
foule. Combien de feuilles comptez-vous ? – Trois mon père, lui répond-on. – Et
combien de trèfles ai-je dans ma main ? – Un seul ! – Ainsi est le Dieu des
chrétiens. Il est seul et unique Dieu, mais se manifeste en trois personnes.
Dieu est le trèfle, et les trois feuilles sont le père, le fils et le saint
Esprit.
Also known as
Apostle of Ireland
Maewyn Succat
Patricius
Patrizio
Profile
Kidnapped from
the British mainland around age 16, and shipped to Ireland as
a slave.
Sent to the mountains as a shepherd,
he spent his time in the field in prayer.
After six years of this life, he received had a dream in which he was commanded
to return to Britain; seeing it as a sign, he escaped. He studied in
several monasteries in Europe. Priest. Bishop.
Sent by Pope Celestine
to evangelize England,
then Ireland,
during which his chariot driver was Saint Odran,
and Saint Jarlath was
one of his spiritual students. In 33 years he effectively converted the Ireland.
In the Middle
Ages Ireland became
known as the Land of Saints, and during the Dark Ages its monasteries were
the great repositories of learning in Europe,
all a consequence of Patrick’s ministry.
Born
between 387 and 390 at Scotland as Maewyn
Succat
between 461 and 464 at
Saul, County Down, Ireland of
natural causes
Name Meaning
warlike (Succat – pagan birth
name);
noble (Patricius – baptismal
name)
—
—
Adelaide, Australia, archdiocese of
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—
bishop driving snakes before
him
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Additional Information
Book
of Saints, by Father Lawrence
George Lovasik, S.V.D.
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Catholic
Encyclopedia: Saint Patrick
Catholic
Encyclopedia: Saint Patrick’s Purgatory
Catholic
Encyclopedia: Croagh Patrick
Catholic
World: The Birthplace of Saint Patrick, by J Cashel Hoey
Deer’s
Cry, translated by Kuno Meyer
Epistle
to the Christian Subjects of the Tyrant Coroticus, by Saint Patrick
Golden
Legend, by Jacobus
de Voragine
Handbook
of Christian Feasts and Customs, by Francis X Weiser, SJ
Ireland’s
Apostle and Faith, by Father O’Haire
Legends
of Saint Patrick: Saint Patrick at Tara
Legends
of Saint Patrick: The Disbelief of Milchoor, Saint Patrick’s One
Failure
Legends
of Saint Patrick: The Two Princesses, Fedelm the Red Rose and Ethna
the Fair
Legends
of Saint Patrick: The Baptism of Saint Patrick
Little
Lives of the Great Saints
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Metrical
Life of Saint Patrick, by Saint Fiech
New
Catholic Dictionary: Saint Patrick
New
Catholic Dictionary: Saint Patrick’s Purgatory
Our
Island Saints, by Amy Steedman
Saint
Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, by Monsignor James
B Dollard
Saint
Patrick, The Father of a Sacred Nation, by Father James
F Loughlin
Saint
Patrick, The Life of a Saint, by Monsignor O’Riordan
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
The
Holiness of Saint Patrick, by Father P
F Crudden
Tripartite
Life of Saint Patrick – Part I
Tripartite
Life of Saint Patrick – Part II
Tripartite
Life of Saint Patrick – Part III
Life and Acts of Saint Patrick, by Bishop Jocelin
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of
Saints
Sacred
and Legendary Art, by Anna Jameson
other sites in english
1001 Patron Saints and Their Feast Days,
Australian Catholic Truth Society
British Broadcasting Corporation
Cardinal Richard Cushing:
On Saint Patrick
and the Irish People, 1961
Catholic Cuisine: Celtic Knot
Graham Cookies
Catholic Cuisine: Pesto
Tortellini Shamrocks for Saint Patrick’s Day
Encyclopedia Britannica (2008
edition)
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
National Public Radio: How Did
Saint Patrick Get to Be the Patron Saint of Nigeria
Pope John XXIII: Address
on Saint Patrick, 1961
images
audio
Alleluia Audio Books: Life of
Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, by Father William Bullen Morris
Librivox: Collected Works
video
Life of Saint Patrick, by
Father William Bullen Morris (audio book and image montage)
e-books
Credal Statements of Saint Patrick,
by John Ernest Leonard Oulton
Ireland
and Saint Patrick, by Father William Bullen Morris
Legends
of Saint Patrick, A, by Aubrey De Vere
Life
and Writings of Saint Patrick, The, by Archbishop John Healy
Life
of Saint Patrick, The, by Michael JOseph O’Farrell
Life of Saint Patrick and His Place in
History, The, by John Bagnell Bury
Life of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland,
by Father William Bullen Morris
Life
of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, by Mary Francis Cusack
Life
of Saint Patrick, Apostle of Ireland, The, by Patrick Lynch
Patrons of Erin, The, by
William Gouan Todd
Popular
Life of Saint Patrick, A, by Father Michael J O’Farrell
Remains
of Saint Patrick, Apstole of Ireland, by Samuel Ferguson
Rhymed
Life of Saint Patrick, The, by Katharine Tynan
Saint
Patrick, by Abbe Riguet
Saint
Patrick and His Gallic Friends, by Francis Ryan Montmogery
Saint
Patrick and the Early Church of Ireland, by William Maxwell
Blackburn
Saint
Patrick and the Irish, by William Erigena Robinson
Saint Patrick at Tara, by John
William Glover
Saint
Patrick in History, by Father Thomas Joseph Shahan
Saint
Patrick, Apostle of Ireland
Saint
Patrick: His Life and Mission, by Mrs Thomas Concannon
Saint
Patrick: His Life and Teaching, by E J Newell
Saint
Patrick: His Life, His Heroic Virtues, His Labours, and the Fruits of His
Labours, by Father Dean Kinane
Saint Patrick, His Writings and Life,
Saint Patrick, John Davis Newport
Saint
Patrick, The Travelling Man, by Winifred M Letts
Saint
Patrick’s Purgatory, by Thomas Wright
Saint
Patrick’s Purgatory: A Mediaeval Pilgrimage in Ireland, by St John
Drelincourt Seymour
Story of Saint Patrick, Joseph
Snaderson and John Borland Finlay
Story
of Saint Patrick’s Purgatory, The, by Shane Leslie
Succat:
The Story of Sixty Years of the Life of Saint Patrick, by Monsignor
Robert Gradwell
Three Middle Irish Homilies on the Lives
of Saints Patrick, Brigit and Columba, by Whitley Stokes
Tripartite
Life of Patrick, The, by Whitley Stokes
Where was Saint Patrick Born?,
by D Mackintosh MacGregor
Writings
of Saint Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland, The, by Saint Patrick,
Charles Henry Hamilton Wright
Wurra-Wurra:
A Legend of Saint Patrick at Tara, by Curtis Dunham
webseiten auf deutsch
sitios en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti in italiano
notitia in latin
nettsteder i norsk
strony w jezyku polskim
spletne strani v slovenšcini
Readings
I came to the Irish people
to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with
reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even
bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others. If I am
worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most
willingly, for Christ’s name. I want to spend myself for that country, even in
death, if the Lord should grant me this favor. It is among that people that I
want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He
makes this promise in the Gospel: “They shall come from the east and west and
sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” This is our faith: believers are to
come from the whole world. – from the Confession of
Saint Patrick
Christ shield me this day:
Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ beside me
Christ to win me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ to comfort me and restore me,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me
– Saint Patrick,
from his breast-plate
MLA Citation
“Saint Patrick“. CatholicSaints.Info. 26 December
2020. Web. 17 March 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/saint-patrick/>
.JPG)
Socha svatého Patrika ve Fryštátě. Karviná, okres
Karviná, Moravskoslezský kraj
Statue of st. Patrick in Fryštát. Karviná, Karviná
District, Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic
St.Patrick’s Breastplate
I bind unto myself today
I bind this day to me for ever,by power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation ;
I bind unto myself today
Christ beneath me,
attributed to St. Patrick (372-466); trans. Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895), 1889
SOURCE : http://www.ucatholic.com/catholicprayers/st-patricks-breastplate/
St. Patrick
Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in Scotland, in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick,Ireland, 17 March, 493. Some sources say 460 or 461. --Ed.
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity:
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with His Baptism,
The virtue of His crucifixion with His burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgement Day.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendour of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of sea,
The stability of earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today
God's Power to guide me,
God's Might to uphold me,
God's Wisdom to teach me,
God's Eye to watch over me,
God's Ear to hear me,
God's Word to give me speech,
God's Hand to guide me,
God's Way to lie before me,
God's Shield to shelter me,
God's Host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.
I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against the spells of women, and smiths, and druids,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man.
Christ, protect me today
Against every poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in the fort,
Christ in the chariot seat,
Christ in the poop [deck],
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of an invocation of the Trinity,
I believe the Trinity in the Unity
The Creator of the Universe.
"And where is God?"
"Where is His dwelling?"
"Has He sons and daughters?"
"Is He rich in silver and gold?"
"Is He everlasting? is He beautiful?"
"Are His daughters dear and lovely to the men of this world?"
"Is He on the heavens or on earth?"
"In the sea, in rivers, in mountains, in valleys?"
"Make Him known to us. How is He to be seen?"
"How is He to be loved? How is He to be found?"
"Is it in youth or is it in old age that He may be found?"
"God, whom we announce to you, is the Ruler of all things."
"The God of heaven and earth, of the sea and the rivers."
"The God of the sun, and the moon, and all the stars."
"The God of the high mountains and of the low-lying valleys."
"The God who is above heaven, and in heaven, and under heaven."
"His dwelling is in heaven and earth, and the sea, and all therein."
"He gives breath to all."
"He gives life to all."
"He is over all."
"He upholds all."
"He gives light to the sun."
"He imparts splendour to the moon."
"He has made wells in the dry land, and islands in the ocean."
"He has appointed the stars to serve the greater lights."
"His Son is co-eternal and co-equal with Himself."
"The Son is not younger than the Father."
"And the Father is not older than the Son."
"And the Holy Ghost proceeds from them."
"The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are undivided."
"But I desire by Faith to unite you to the Heavenly King, as you are daughters of an earthly king."
Men, youths, and women;
A blessing on the land
That yields them fruit.
A blessing on every treasure
That shall be produced on their plains,
Without any one being in want of help,
God's blessing be on Munster.
A blessing on their peaks,
On their bare flagstones,
A blessing on their glens,
A blessing on their ridges.
Like the sand of the sea under ships,
Be the number in their hearths;
On slopes, on plains,
On mountains, on hills, a blessing.
- many souls would be free from the pains of purgatory through his intercession;
- whoever in
the spirit of penance would recite his hymn before death would attain the heavenly reward;
- barbarian
hordes would never obtain sway in his Church;
- seven years
before the Judgement Day,
the sea would spread over Ireland to save its people from thetemptations and terrors of the Antichrist; and
- greatest blessing of all, Patrick himself should be
deputed to judge the whole Irish race on the last day.
Writings of St. Patrick
Sources
The Trias thaumaturga (gol., Louvain, 1647) of of the Franciscan COLGAN is the most completecollection of the ancient Lives of the saint. The Kemare Life of Saint Patrick (CUSACK, Dublin, 1869) presents from the pen of HENNESSY the translation of the Irish Tripartite Life, with copious notes. WHITLEY STOKES, in the Rolls Series (London, 1887), has given the textand translation of the Vita Tripartita, together with many original documents from the Book of Amragh and other sources. The most noteworthy works of later years are SHEARMAN, Loca Patriciana (Dublin, 1879); TODD, St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland (Dublin, 1864); BURY, Life of St. Patrick (London, 1905); HEALY, The Life and Writings of St. Patrick (Dublin, 1905).
ST. PATRICK, BISHOP, APOSTLE OF IRELAND.
IF the virtue of children reflects an honor on their parents, much more justly is the name of St. Patrick rendered illustrious by the innumerable lights of sanctity with which the Church of Ireland shone during many ages, and by the colonies of Saints with which it peopled many foreign countries; for, under God, its inhabitants derived from their glorious apostle the streams of that eminent sanctity by which they were long conspicuous to the whole world. St. Patrick was born towards the close of the fourth century, in a village called Bonaven Taberniae, which seems to be the town of Kilpatrick, on the mouth of the river Clyde, in Scotland, between Dumbarton and Glasgow. He calls himself both a Briton and a Roman, or of a mixed extraction, and says his father was of a good family named Calphurnius, and a denizen of a neighboring city of the Romans, who not long after abandoned Britain, in 409. Some writers call his mother Conchessa, and say she was niece to St. Martin of Tours.
In his sixteenth year he was carried into captivity by certain barbarians who took him into Ireland, where he was obliged to keep cattle on the mountains and in the forests, in hunger and nakedness, amidst snows, rain, and ice. Whilst he lived in this suffering condition, God had pity on his soul, and quickened him to a sense of his duty by the impulse of a strong interior grace. The young man had recourse to Him with his whole heart in fervent prayer and fasting; and from that time faith and the love of God acquired continually new strength in his tender soul. After six months spent in slavery under the same master, St. Patrick was admonished by God in a dream to return to his own country, and informed that a ship was then ready to sail thither. He went at once to the sea coast, though at a great distance, and found the vessel; but could not obtain his passage, probably for want of money. The Saint returned towards his hut, praying as he went, but the sailors, though pagans, called him back, and took him on board. After three days sail they made land, but wandered twenty-seven days through deserts, and were a long while distressed for want of provisions, finding nothing to eat. Patrick had often spoken to the company on the infinite power of God, they therefore asked him why he did not pray for relief. Animated by a strong faith, he assured them that if they would address themselves with their whole hearts to the true God, He would hear and succor them. They did so, and on the same day met with a herd of swine. From that time provisions never failed them, till on the twenty-seventh day they came into a country that was cultivated and inhabited.
Some years afterward he was again led captive, but recovered his liberty after two months. When he was at home with his parents, God manifested to him, by divers visions, that he destined him to the great work of the conversion of Ireland. The writers of his life say that after his second captivity he travelled into Gaul and Italy, and saw St. Martin, St. Germanus of Auxerre, and Pope Celestine, and that he received his mission and the apostolical benediction from this Pope, who died in 432. It is certain that he spent many years in preparing himself for his sacred calling. Great opposition was made against his episcopal consecration and mission, both by his own relations and by the clergy. These made him great offers in order to detain him among them, and endeavored to affright him by exaggerating the dangers to which he exposed himself amidst the enemies of the Romans and Britons, who did not know God. All these temptations threw the Saint into great perplexities, but the Lord, whose will he consulted by earnest prayer, supported him, and he persevered in his resolution. He forsook his family, sold his birthright and dignity, to serve strangers, and consecrated his soul to God, to carry His name to the ends of the earth. In this disposition he passed into Ireland, to preach the Gospel, where the worship of idols still generally reigned. He devoted himself entirely to the salvation of these barbarians. He travelled over the whole island, penetrating into the remotest corners, and such was the fruit of his preachings and sufferings that he baptized an infinite number of people. He ordained everywhere clergymen, induced women to live in holy widowhood and continence, consecrated virgins to Christ, and instituted monks. He took nothing from the many thousands whom he baptized, and often gave back the little presents which some laid on the altar, choosing rather to mortify the fervent than to scandalize the weak or the infidels. He gave freely of his own, however, both to Pagans and Christians, distributed large alms to the poor in the provinces where he passed, made presents to the kings, judging that necessary for the progress of the Gospel, and maintained and educated many children, whom he trained up to serve at the altar. The happy success of his labors cost him many persecutions.
A certain prince named Corotick, a Christian in name only, disturbed the peace of his flock. This tyrant, having made a descent into Ireland, plundered the country where St. Patrick had been just conferring confirmation on a great number of neophytes, who were yet in their white garments after baptism. Corotick massacred many, and carried away others, whom he sold to the infidel Picts or Scots. The next day the Saint sent the barbarian a letter entreating him to restore the Christian captives, and at least part of the booty he had taken, that the poor people might not perish for want; but was only answered by railleries. The Saint, therefore, wrote with his own hand a letter. In it he styles himself a sinner and an ignorant man; he declares, nevertheless, that he is established bishop of Ireland, and pronounces Corotick and the other parricides and accomplices separated from him and from Jesus Christ, whose place he holds, forbidding any to eat with them, or to receive their alms, till they should have satisfied God by the tears of sincere penance, and restored the servants of Jesus Christ to their liberty. This letter expresses his most tender love for his flock, and his grief for those who had been slain, yet mingled with joy, because they reign with the prophets, apostles, and martyrs. Jocelin assures us that Corotick was overtaken by the divine vengeance.
St. Patrick held several councils to settle the discipline of the Church which he had planted. St. Bernard and the tradition of the country testify that St. Patrick fixed his metropolitan see at Armagh. He established some other bishops, as appears by his Council and other monuments. He not only converted the whole country by his preaching and wonderful miracles, but also cultivated this vineyard with so fruitful a benediction and increase from heaven, as to render Ireland a most flourishing garden in the Church of God, and a country of Saints.
Many particulars are related of the labors of St. Patrick, which we pass over. In the first year of his mission he attempted to preach Christ in the general assembly of the kings and states of all Ireland, held yearly at Tara, the residence of the chief king, styled the monarch of the whole island, and the principal seat of the Druids or priests, and their paganish rites. The son of Neill, the chief monarch, declared himself against the preacher; however, Patrick converted several, and, on his road to that place, the father of St. Benignus, his immediate successor in the see of Armagh. He afterward converted and baptized the kings of Dublin and Munster, and the seven sons of the king of Connaught, with the greatest part of their subjects, and before his death almost the whole island. He founded a monastery at Armagh; another called Domnach-Padraig, or Patrick's Church; also a third, named Sabhal-Padraig, and filled the country with churches and schools of piety and learning, the reputation of which, for the three succeeding centuries, drew many foreigners into Ireland. He died and was buried at Down, in Ulster. His body was found there in a church of his name in 1185, and translated to another part of the same church.
Ireland is the nursery whence St. Patrick sent forth his missionaries and teachers. Glastonbury and Lindisfarne, Ripon and Malmesbury, bear testimony to the labors of Irish priests and bishops for the conversion of England. Iona is to this day the most venerated spot in Scotland. Columban, Fiacre, Gall, and many others evangelized the "rough places" of France and Switzerland. America and Australia, in modern times, owe their Christianity to the faith and zeal of the sons and daughters of St. Patrick.
REFLECTION.-By the instrumentality of St. Patrick the faith is now as fresh in Ireland, even in this cold twentieth century, as when it was first planted. Ask him to obtain for you the special grace of his children, to prefer the loss of every earthly good to the least compromise in matters of faith.
SOURCE : http://jesus-passion.com/Saint_Patrick.htm
Mattheus
Borrekens, « Saint Patrice », 1625-1670, estampe, Rijksmuseum,
Amsterdam, inv. RP-P-BI-2744
Patrick of Ireland B (RM)
Born in Scotland, c. 385-390; died in Ireland c. 461.
"I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Incarnation of Christ with his Baptism,
The virtue of His Crucifixion with his burial,
The virtue of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
The virtue of His coming on the Judgment Day.
I bind to myself today
The virtue of the love of the seraphim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the hope of resurrection unto reward,
In prayers of Patriarchs,
In predictions of Prophets,
In preaching of Apostles,
In faith of Confessors,
In purity of holy Virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I bind to myself today
The power of Heaven,
The light of the sun,
The brightness of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The flashing of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The compactness of rocks.
I bind to myself today.
God's power to guide me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to teach me,
God's eye to watch over me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to give me speech,
God's hand to guide me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to shelter me,
God's host to secure me,
Against the snares of demons,
Against the seductions of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who meditates injury to me,
Whether far or near,
Whether few or many.
I invoke today all these virtues
Against every hostile, merciless power
Which may assail my body and my soul,
Against the incantations of false prophets,
Against the black laws of heathenism,
Against the false laws of heresy,
Against the deceits of idolatry,
Against every knowledge that binds the soul of man and woman.
Christ, protect me today
Against poison,
Against burning,
Against drowning,
Against death-wound,
That I may receive abundant reward.
Christ be with me,
Christ be before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ be with me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ at my right,
Christ at my left,
Christ be in the fort,
Christ be in the chariot,
Christ be in the ship,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I bind to myself today
The strong virtue of the Invocation of the Trinity.
I believe the Trinity in the Unity,
The Creator of the Universe. Amen."
--Saint Patrick's Breastplate or Faeth Fiadha (deer's cry).
Note that there are several different versions of this prayer, which is alleged to be the invocation that led Patrick and his party safely to the confrontation with the Druids at Tara. It's Irish name, the Deer's Cry, is based on the legend that Patrick and his eight companions were miraculously turned into deer to be able to pass unnoticed by the king's guards sent to intercept them.
"I was like a stone lying in the deep mire; and He that is mighty came, and in His mercy lifted me up, and verily raised me aloft and placed me on the top of the wall."
--Saint Patrick
The historical Patrick is much more attractive than the Patrick of legend. It is unclear exactly where Patricius Magonus Sucatus (Patrick) was born--somewhere in the west between the mouth of the Severn and the Clyde--but this most popular Irish saint was probably born in Scotland of British origin, perhaps in a village called Bannavem Taberniae. (Other possibilities are in Gaul or at Kilpatrick near Dumbarton, Scotland.) His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon and a civil official, a town councillor, and his grandfather was a priest.
About 405, when Patrick was in his teens (14-16), he was captured by Irish raiders and became a slave in Ireland. There in Ballymena (or Slemish) in Antrim (or Mayo), Patrick first learned to pray intensely while tending his master's sheep in contrast with his early years in Britain when he "knew not the true God" and did not heed clerical "admonitions for our salvation." After six years, he was told in a dream that he should be ready for a courageous effort that would take him back to his homeland.
He ran away from his owner and travelled 200 miles to the coast. His initial request for free passage on a ship was turned down, but he prayed, and the sailors called him back. The ship on which he escaped was taking dogs to Gaul (France). At some point he returned to his family in Britain, then seems to have studied at the monastery of Lérins on the Côte d'Azur from 412 to 415.
He received some kind of training for the priesthood in either Britain or Gaul, possibly in Auxerre, including study of the Latin Bible, but his learning was not of a high standard, and he was to regret this always. He spent the next 15 years at Auxerre were he became a disciple of Saint Germanus of Auxerre and was possibly ordained about 417.
The cultus of Patrick began in France, long before Sucat received the noble title of Patricius, which was immediately before his departure for Ireland about 431. The center of this cultus is a few miles west of Tours, on the Loire, around the town of St- Patrice, which is named after him. The strong, persistent legend is that Patrick not only spent the twenty years after his escape from slavery there, but that it was his home. The local people firmly believe that Patrick was the nephew of Saint Martin of Tours and that he became a monk in his uncle's great Marmoutier Abbey.
Patrick's cultus there reverts to the legend of Les Fleurs de St- Patrice which relates that Patrick was sent from the abbey to preach the Gospel in the area of Bréhémont-sur-Loire. He went fishing one day and had a tremendous catch. The local fishermen were upset and forced him to flee. He reached a shelter on the north bank where he slept under a blackthorn bush. When he awoke the bush was covered with flowers. Because this was Christmas day, the incident was considered a miracle, which recurred each Christmas until the bush was destroyed in World War I. The phenomenon was evaluated many times and verified by various observers, including official organizations. His is now the patron of the fishermen on the Loire and, according to a modern French scholar, the patron of almost every other occupation in the neighborhood. There is a grotto dedicated to him at Marmoutier, which contains a stone bed, alleged to have been his.
It is said that in visions he heard voices in the wood of Focault or that he dreamed of Ireland and determined to return to the land of his slavery as a missionary. In that dream or vision he heard a cry from many people together "come back and walk once more among us," and he read a writing in which this cry was named 'the voice of the Irish.' (When Pope John Paul II went to Ireland in 1979, among his first words were that he, too, had heard the "voice of the Irish.")
In his Confessio Patrick writes: "It was not my grace, but God who overcometh in me, so that I came to the heathen Irish to preach the Gospel . . . to a people newly come to belief which the Lord took from the ends of the earth." Saint Germanus consecrated him bishop about 432, and sent him to Ireland to succeed Saint Palladius, the first bishop, who had died earlier that year. There was some opposition to Patrick's appointment, probably from Britain, but Patrick made his way to Ireland about 435.
He set up his see at Armagh and organized the church into territorial sees, as elsewhere in the West and East. While Patrick encouraged the Irish to become monks and nuns, it is not certain that he was a monk himself; it is even less likely that in his time the monastery became the principal unit of the Irish Church, although it was in later periods. The choice of Armagh may have been determined by the presence of a powerful king. There Patrick had a school and presumably a small familia in residence; from this base he made his missionary journeys. There seems to have been little contact with the Palladian Christianity of the southeast.
There is no reliable account of his work in Ireland, where he had been a captive. Legends include the stories that he drove snakes from Ireland, and that he described the Trinity by referring to the shamrock, and that he singlehandedly--an impossible task--converted Ireland. Nevertheless, Saint Patrick established the Catholic Church throughout Ireland on lasting foundations: he travelled throughout the country preaching, teaching, building churches, opening schools and monasteries, converting chiefs and bards, and everywhere supporting his preaching with miracles.
At Tara in Meath he is said to have confronted King Laoghaire on Easter Eve with the Christian Gospel, kindled the light of the paschal fire on the hill of Slane (the fire of Christ never to be extinguished in Ireland), confounded the Druids into silence, and gained a hearing for himself as a man of power. He converted the king's daughters (a tale I've recounted under the entry for Saints Ethenea and Fidelmia. He threw down the idol of Crom Cruach in Leitrim. Patrick wrote that he daily expected to be violently killed or enslaved again.
He gathered many followers, including Saint Benignus, who would become his successor. That was one of his chief concerns, as it always is for the missionary Church: the raising up of native clergy.
He wrote: "It was most needful that we should spread our nets, so that a great multitude and a throng should be taken for God. . . . Most needful that everywhere there should be clergy to baptize and exhort a people poor and needy, as the Lord in the Gospel warns and teaches, saying: Go ye therefore now, and teach all nations. And again: Go ye therefore into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature. And again: This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all nations."
In his writings and preaching, Patrick revealed a scale of values. He was chiefly concerned with abolishing paganism, idolatry, and sun-worship. He made no distinction of classes in his preaching and was himself ready for imprisonment or death for following Christ. In his use of Scripture and eschatological expectations, he was typical of the 5th-century bishop. One of the traits which he retained as an old man was a consciousness of his being an unlearned exile and former slave and fugitive, who learned to trust God completely.
There was some contact with the pope. He visited Rome in 442 and 444. As the first real organizer of the Irish Church, Patrick is called the Apostle of Ireland. According to the Annals of Ulster, the Cathedral Church of Armagh was founded in 444, and the see became a center of education and administration. Patrick organized the Church into territorial sees, raised the standard of scholarship (encouraging the teaching of Latin), and worked to bring Ireland into a closer relationship with the Western Church.
His writings show what solid doctrine he must have taught his listeners. His Confessio (his autobiography, perhaps written as an apology against his detractors), the Lorica (or Breastplate), and the "Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus," protesting British slave trading and the slaughter of a group of Irish Christians by Coroticus's raiding Christian Welshmen, are the first surely identified literature of the British or Celtic Church.
What stands out in his writings is Patrick's sense of being called by God to the work he had undertaken, and his determination and modesty in carrying it out: "I, Patrick, a sinner, am the most ignorant and of least account among the faithful, despised by many. . . . I owe it to God's grace that so many people should through me be born again to him."
Towards the end of his life, Patrick made that 'retreat' of forty days on Cruachan Aigli in Mayo from which the age-long Croagh Patrick pilgrimage derives. Patrick may have died at Saul on Strangford Lough, Downpatrick, where he had built his first church. Glastonbury claims his alleged relics. The National Museum at Dublin has his bell and tooth, presumably from the shrine at Downpatrick, where he was originally entombed with Saints Brigid and Columba.
The high veneration in which the Irish hold Patrick is evidenced by the common salutation, "May God, Mary, and Patrick bless you." His name occurs widely in prayers and blessings throughout Ireland. Among the oldest devotions of Ireland is the prayer used by travellers invoking Patrick's protection, An Mhairbhne Phaidriac or The Elegy of Patrick. He is alleged to have promised prosperity to those who seek his intercession on his feast day, which marks the end of winter. A particularly lovely legend is that the Peace of Christ will reign over all Ireland when the Palm and the Shamrock meet, which means when St. Patrick's Day fall on Passion Sunday.
Most unusual is Well of Saint Patrick at Orvieto, Italy, which was built at the order of Pope Clement VII in 1537 to provide water for the city during its periodic sieges. The connection with Saint Patrick comes from the fact that the project was completed and dedicated by a member of the Sangallo family, a name derived from the Irish Saint Gall. A common Italian proverb refers to this exceptionally deep (248 steps to the surface) well: liberal spenders are said to have pockets as deep as the Well of Patrick (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Bieler, Bury, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, MacNeill, Montague, White).
We are told that often Patrick baptized hundreds on a single day. He would come to a place, a crowd would gather, and when he told them about the true God, the people would cry out from all sides that they wanted to become Christians. Then they would move to the nearest water to be baptized.
On such a day Aengus, a prince of Munster, was baptized. When Patrick had finished preaching, Aengus was longing with all his heart to become a Christian. The crowd surrounded the two because Aengus was such an important person. Patrick got out his book and began to look for the place of the baptismal rite but his crozier got in the way.
As you know, the bishop's crozier often has a spike at the bottom end, probably to allow the bishop to set it into the ground to free his hands. So, when Patrick fumbled searching for the right spot in the book so that he could baptize Aengus, he absent-mindedly stuck his crosier into the ground just beside him--and accidentally through the foot of poor Aengus!
Patrick, concentrating on the sacrament, never noticed what he had done and proceeded with the baptism. The prince never cried out, nor moaned; he simply went very white. Patrick poured water over his bowed head at the simple words of the rite. Then it was completed. Aengus was a Christian. Patrick turned to take up his crozier and was horrified to find that he had driven it through the prince's foot!
"But why didn't you say something? This is terrible. Your foot is bleeding and you'll be lame. . . ." Poor Patrick was very unhappy to have hurt another.
Then Aengus said in a low voice that he thought having a spike driven through his foot was part of the ceremony. He added something that must have brought joy to the whole court of heaven and blessings on Ireland:
"Christ," he said slowly, "shed His blood for me, and I am glad to suffer a little pain at baptism to be like Our Lord" (Curtayne).
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IF the virtue of children reflects an honour on their parents, much more justly is the name of St. Patrick rendered illustrious by the innumerable lights of sanctity with which the church of Ireland, planted by his labours in the most remote corner of the then known world, shone during many ages; and by the colonies of saints with which it peopled many foreign countries; for, under God, its inhabitants derived from their glorious apostle the streams of that eminent sanctity, by which they were long conspicuous to the whole world. St. Patrick was born in the decline of the fourth century; 1 and as he informs us in his Confession, in a village called Bonaven Taberniæ, which seems to be the town of Killpatrick, on the mouth of the river Cluyd, in Scotland, between Dunbriton and Glasgow. He calls himself both a Briton and a Roman, or of a mixed extraction, and says his father was of a good family named Calphurnius, and a denizen of a neighbouring city of the Romans, who not long after abandoned Britain, in 409. Some writers call his mother Conchessa, and say she was niece to St. Martin of Tours. At fifteen years of age he committed a fault, which appears not to have been a great crime, yet was to him a subject of tears during the remainder of his life. He says, that when he was sixteen, he lived still ignorant of God, meaning of the devout knowledge and fervent love of God, for he was always a Christian: he never ceased to bewail this neglect, and wept when he remembered that he had been one moment of his life insensible of the divine love. In his sixteenth year he was carried into captivity by certain barbarians, together with many of his father’s vassals and slaves, taken upon his estate. They took him into Ireland, where he was obliged to keep cattle on the mountains and in the forests, in hunger and nakedness, amidst snows, rain, and ice. Whilst he lived in this suffering condition, God had pity on his soul, and quickened him to a sense of his duty by the impulse of a strong interior grace. The young man had recourse to him with his whole heart in fervent prayer and fasting; and from that time faith and the love of God acquired continually new strength in his tender soul. He prayed often in the day, and also many times in the night, breaking off his sleep to return to the divine praises. His afflictions were to him a source of heavenly benedictions, because he carried his cross with Christ, that is, with patience, resignation and holy joy. St. Patrick, after six months spent in slavery under the same master, was admonished by God in a dream to return to his own country, and informed that a ship was then ready to sail thither. He repaired immediately to the sea-coast, though at a great distance, and found the vessel; but could not obtain his passage, probably for want of money. Thus new trials ever await the servants of God. The saint returned towards his hut, praying as he went, but the sailors, though pagans, called him back, and took him on board. After three days’ sail, they made land, probably in the north of Scotland: but wandered twenty-seven days through deserts, and were a long while distressed for want of provisions, finding nothing to eat. Patrick had often entertained the company on the infinite power of God: they therefore asked him, why he did not pray for relief? Animated by a strong faith, he assured them that if they would address themselves with their whole heart to the true God, he would hear and succour them. They did so, and on the same day met with a herd of swine. From that time provisions never failed them till on the twenty-seventh day they came into a country that was cultivated and inhabited. During their distress, Patrick refused to touch meats which had been offered to idols. One day a great stone from a rock happened to fall upon him, and had like to have crushed him to death, whilst he had laid down to take a little rest. But he invoked Elias, and was delivered from the danger. Some years afterwards he was again led captive; but recovered his liberty after two months. When he was at home with his parents, God manifested to him, by divers visions, that he destined him to the great work of the conversion of Ireland. He thought he saw all the children of that country from the wombs of their mothers stretching out their hands, and piteously crying to him for relief. 2
Some think he had travelled into Gaul before he undertook his mission, and we find that, whilst he preached in Ireland, he had a great desire to visit his brethren in Gaul, and to see those whom he calls the saints of God, having been formerly acquainted with them. The authors of his life say, that after his second captivity, he travelled into Gaul and Italy, and had seen St. Martin, St. Germanus of Auxerre, and Pope Celestine, and that he received his mission, and the apostolical benediction from this pope, who died in 432. But it seems, from his Confession, that he was ordained deacon, priest, and bishop, for his mission in his own country. It is certain that he spent many years in preparing himself for those sacred functions. Great opposition was made against his episcopal consecration and mission, both by his own relations and by the clergy. These made him great offers in order to detain him among them, and endeavoured to affright him by exaggerating the dangers to which he exposed himself amidst the enemies of the Romans and Britons, who did not know God. Some objected, with the same view, the fault which he had committed thirty years before as an obstacle to his ordination. All these temptations threw the saint into great perplexities, and had like to have made him abandon the work of God. But the Lord, whose will he consulted by earnest prayer, supported him, and comforted him by a vision; so that he persevered in his resolution. He forsook his family, sold, as he says, his birth-right and dignity, to serve strangers, and consecrated his soul to God, to carry his name to the end of the earth. He was determined to suffer all things for the accomplishment of his holy design, to receive in the same spirit both prosperity and adversity, and to return thanks to God equally for the one as for the other, desiring only that his name might be glorified, and his divine will accomplished to his own honour. In this disposition he passed into Ireland, to preach the gospel, where the worship of idols still generally reigned. He devoted himself entirely for the salvation of these barbarians, to be regarded as a stranger, to be condemned as the last of men, to suffer from the infidels imprisonment and all kinds of persecution, and to give his life with joy, if God should deem him worthy to shed his blood in his cause. He travelled over the whole island, penetrating into the remotest corners without fearing any dangers, and often visited each province. Such was the fruit of his preachings and sufferings, that he consecrated to God, by baptism, an infinite number of people, and laboured effectually that they might be perfected in his service by the practice of virtue. He ordained every where clergymen, induced women to live in holy widowhood and continency, consecrated virgins to Christ, and instituted monks. Great numbers embraced these states of perfection with extreme ardour. Many desired to confer earthly riches on him, who had communicated to them the goods of heaven; but he made it a capital duty to decline all self-interest, and whatever might dishonour his ministry. He took nothing from the many thousands whom he baptized, and often gave back the little presents which some laid on the altar, choosing rather to mortify the fervent than to scandalize the weak or the infidels. On the contrary, he gave freely of his own, both to pagans and Christians, distributed large alms to the poor in the provinces where he passed, made presents to the kings; judging that necessary for the progress of the gospel, and maintained and educated many children whom he trained up to serve at the altar. He always gave till he had no more to bestow, and rejoiced to see himself poor, with Jesus Christ, knowing poverty and afflictions to be more profitable to him than riches and pleasures. The happy success of his labours cost him many persecutions.
A certain prince named Corotick, a Christian, though in name only, disturbed the peace of his flock. He seems to have reigned in some part of Wales, after the Britons had been abandoned by the Romans. This tyrant, as the saint calls him, having made a descent into Ireland, plundered the country where Saint Patrick had been just conferring the holy chrism, that is, confirmation, on a great number of Neophytes, who were yet in their white garments after baptism. Corotick, without paying any regard to justice, or to the holy sacrament, massacred many, and carried away others, whom he sold to the infidel Picts or Scots. This probably happened at Easter or Whitsuntide. The next day the saint sent the barbarian a letter by a holy priest whom he had brought up from his infancy, entreating him to restore the Christian captives, and at least part of the booty he had taken, that the poor people might not perish for want; but was only answered by railleries, as if the Irish could not be the same Christians with the Britons: which arrogance and pride sunk those barbarous conquerors beneath the dignity of men, whilst by it they were puffed up above others in their own hearts. The saint, therefore, to prevent the scandal which such a flagrant enormity gave to his new converts, wrote with his own hand a public circular letter. In it he styles himself a sinner and an ignorant man; for such is the sincere humility of the saints, (most of all when they are obliged to exercise any acts of authority,) contrary to the pompous titles which the world affects. He declares, nevertheless, that he is established bishop of Ireland, and pronounces Corotick and the other parricides and accomplices separated from him and from Jesus Christ, whose place he holds, forbidding any to eat with them, or to receive their alms, till they should have satisfied God by the tears of sincere penance, and restored the servants of Jesus Christ to their liberty. This letter expresses his most tender love for his flock, and his grief for those who had been slain, yet mingled with joy, because they reign with the prophets, apostles, and martyrs. Jocelin assures us, that Corotick, was overtaken by the divine vengeance. St. Patrick wrote his Confession as a testimony of his mission, when he was old. 3 It is solid, full of good sense and piety, expresses an extraordinary humility and a great desire of martyrdom, and is written with spirit. The author was perfectly versed in the holy scriptures. He confesses every where his own faults with a sincere humility, and extols the great mercies of God towards him in this world, who had exalted him, though the most undeserving of men: yet, to preserve him in humility, afforded him the advantage of meeting with extreme contempt from others, that is from the heathens. He confesses, for his humiliation, that, among other temptations, he felt a great desire to see again his own country, and to visit the saints of his acquaintance in Gaul: but durst not abandon his people; and says, that the Holy Ghost had declared to him that to do it would be criminal. He tells us, that a little before he had written this, he himself and all his companions had been plundered and laid in irons, for his having baptized the son of a certain king against the will of his father: but were released after fourteen days. He lived in the daily expectation of such accidents, and of martyrdom; but feared nothing, having his hope as a firm anchor fixed in heaven, and reposing himself with an entire confidence in the Almighty. He says, that he had lately baptized a very beautiful young lady of quality, who some days after came to tell him, that she had been admonished by an angel to consecrate her virginity to Jesus Christ, that she might render herself the more acceptable to God. He gave God thanks, and she made her vows with extraordinary fervour six days before he wrote this letter.
St. Patrick held several councils to settle the discipline of the church which he had planted. The first, the acts of which are extant under his name in the editions of the councils, is certainly genuine. Its canons regulate several points of discipline, especially relating to penance. 4 St. Bernard and the tradition of the country testify, that St. Patrick fixed his metropolitan see at Armagh. He established some other bishops, as appears by his council and other monuments. He not only converted the whole country by his preaching and wonderful miracles, but also cultivated this vineyard with so fruitful a benediction and increase from heaven, as to render Ireland a most flourishing garden in the church of God, and a country of saints. And those nations, which had for many ages esteemed all others barbarians, did not blush to receive from the utmost extremity of the uncivilized or barbarous world, their most renowned teachers and guides in the greatest of all sciences, that of the saints.
Many particulars are related of the labours of St. Patrick, which we pass over. In the first year of his mission he attempted to preach Christ in the general assembly of the kings and states of all Ireland, held yearly at Taraghe, or Temoria, in East-Meath, the residence of the chief king, styled the monarch of the whole island, and the principal seat of the Druids or priests, and their paganish rites. The son of Neill, the chief monarch, declared himself against the preacher: however, he converted several, and, on his road to that place, the father of St. Benen, or Benignus, his immediate successor in the see of Armagh. He afterwards converted and baptized the kings of Dublin and Munster, and the seven sons of the king of Connaught, with the greater part of their subjects, and before his death almost the whole island. He founded a monastery at Armagh; another called Domnach-Padraig, or Patrick’s church; also a third, named Sabhal-Padraig, and filled the country with churches and schools of piety and learning; the reputation of which, for the three succeeding centuries, drew many foreigners into Ireland. 5 Nennius, abbot of Bangor, in 620, in his history of the Britons, 6 published by the learned Thomas Gale, says, that St. Patrick took that name only when he was ordained bishop, being before called Maun; that he continued his missions over all the provinces of Ireland, during forty years; that he restored sight to many blind, health to the sick, and raised nine dead persons to life. 7 He died and was buried at Down, in Ulster. His body was found there in a church of his name in 1185, and translated to another part of the same church. His festival is marked on the 17th of March, in the Martyrology of Bede, &c.
The apostles of nations were all interior men, endowed with a sublime spirit of prayer. The salvation of souls being a supernatural end, the instruments ought to bear a proportion to it, and preaching proceed from a grace which is supernatural. To undertake this holy function, without a competent stock of sacred learning, and without the necessary precautions of human prudence and industry, would be to tempt God. But sanctity of life and the union of the heart with God, are a qualification far more essential than science, eloquence, and human talents. Many almost kill themselves with studying to compose elegant sermons, which flatter the ear yet reap very little fruit. Their hearers applaud their parts, but very few are converted. Most preachers, now-a-days, have learning, but are not sufficiently grounded in true sanctity, and a spirit of devotion. Interior humility, purity of heart, recollection, and the spirit and the assiduous practice of holy prayer, are the principal preparation for the ministry of the word, and the true means of acquiring the science of the saints. A short devout meditation and fervent prayer, which kindle a fire in the affections, furnish more thoughts proper to move the hearts of the hearers, and inspire them with sentiments of true virtue, than many years employed barely in reading and study. St. Patrick, and other apostolic men, were dead to themselves and the world, and animated with the spirit of perfect charity and humility, by which they were prepared by God to be such powerful instruments of his grace, as, by the miraculous change of so many hearts, to plant in entire barbarous nations not only the faith, but also the spirit of Christ. Preachers, who have not attained to a disengagement and purity of heart, suffer the petty interests of self-love secretly to mingle themselves in their zeal and charity, and have reason to suspect that they inflict deeper wounds in their own souls than they are aware, and produce not in others the good which they imagine.
Note 1. According to Usher and Tillemont, in 372. The former places his death in 493; but Tillemont, about the year 455. Nennius, published by Mr. Gale, says he died fifty-seven years before the birth of St. Columba, consequently in 464. [back]
Note 2. St. Prosper, in his chronicle, assures us that Pope Celestine ordained St. Palladius bishop of the Scots in 431, and by him converted their country to the faith; this apostle seems to have preached to this nation first in Ireland, and afterwards in Scotland. Though Palladius be styled by St. Prosper and Bede their first bishop, yet the light of the faith had diffused its rays from Britain into Ireland before that time, as several monuments produced by Usher demonstrate. But the general conversion of the inhabitants of this island was reserved for St. Patrick.
The Scots are distinguished from the native Irish in the works of St. Patrick, and in other ancient monuments. As to their original, the most probable conjecture seems to be, that they were a foreign warlike nation who made a settlement in Ireland before the arrival of St. Patrick. We find them mentioned there in the fourth century. Several colonies of them passed not long after into Scotland. But the inhabitants of Ireland were promiscuously called Scots or Irish for many ages. [back]
Note 3. The style is not polished; but the Latin edition is perhaps, only a translation: or his captivities might have prevented his progress in polite learning being equal to that which he made in the more sublime and more necessary studies. [back]
Note 4. A second council, extant in the same collection, ought rather to be ascribed to a nephew of this saint. Other Irish canons, published in the ninth tome of D’Achery’s Spicilege, and more by Martenne, (Anecd. tome 4. part 2.) though they bear the name of St. Patrick, are judged to have been framed by some of his successors. See Wilkins, Conc. Britan. & Hibern. t. 1. p. 3.
The treatise, of the Twelve Abuses, published among the works of St. Austin and St. Cyprian, is attributed to St. Patrick, in a collection of ecclesiastical ordinances made in Ireland, in the eighth age, by Arbedoc, and in other ancient monuments. The style is elegant; but it may be a translation from an Irish original. Sir James Ware published the works of St. Patrick at London, in 1658, in octavo. [back]
Note 5. It seems demonstrated that the St. Patrick who flourished among the hermits of Glastenbury, and was there buried, was distinct from our saint, and somewhat older. [back]
Note 6. C. 55, 56, 57, 58. 61. [back]
Note 7. The popular tradition attributes the exemption of their country from venemous creatures to the benediction of St. Patrick, given by his staff, called the staff of Jesus, which was kept with great veneration in Dublin, as is mentioned in the year 1360, by Ralph Higden, in his Polychronicon, published by Mr. Gale and by others. The isle of Malta is said to derive a like privilege from St. Paul, who was there bitten by a viper.
St. Patrick’s purgatory is a cave in an island in the lake Dearg, in the county of Donnegal, near the borders of Fermanagh. Bollandus shows the falsehood of many things related concerning it. Upon complaint of certain superstitious and false notions of the vulgar, in 1497, it was stopped up by an order of the pope. See Bollandus, Tillemont, p. 787, Alemand in his Monastic History of Ireland, and Thiers, Hist des Superst. t. 4. ed. Nov. It was soon after opened again by the inhabitants; but only according to the original institution, as Bollandus takes notice, as a penitential retirement for those who voluntarily chose it, probably in imitation of St. Patrick, or other saints, who had there dedicated themselves to a penitential state. The penitents usually spend there several days, living on bread and water, lying on rushes or furze, and praying much, with daily stations which they perform barefoot. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume III: March. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/3/171.html
Socha svatého Patrika u kostela svatého Jana
Křtitele, Dolní Lutyně. Moravskoslezský kraj, Česká
republika.
Pomnik Świętego Patryka w pobliżu kościoła św. Jana
Chrzciciela, Lutynia Dolna. Kraj morawsko-śląski, Republika
Czeska.
Statue of Saint Patrick near church of Saint John the
Baptist, Dolní Lutyně. Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech
Republic.
Article
Here followeth the Life of Saint Patrick, and the
interpretation of his name.
Patrick is as much to say as knowledge, for by the
will of God he knew many of the secrets of heaven and of the joys there, and
also he saw a part of the pains of hell.
Of Saint Patrick.
Saint Patrick was born in Britain, which is called
England, and was learned at Rome and there flourished in virtues; and after
departed out of the parts of Italy, where he had long dwelled, and came home
into his country in Wales named Pendyac, and entered into a fair and joyous
country called the valley Rosine. To whom the angel of God appeared and said: O
Patrick, this see ne bishopric God hath not provided to thee, but unto one not
yet born, but shall thirty years hereafter be born, and so he left that country
and sailed over into Ireland. And as Higden saith in Polycronicon the fourth
book, the twenty-fourth chapter, that Saint Patrick’s father was named Caprum,
which was a priest and
a deacon’s son which was called Fodum. And Saint Patrick’s mother was named
Conchessa, Martin’s sister of France. In his baptism he was named Sucate, and
Saint Germain called him Magonius, and Celestinus the pope named him Patrick.
That is as much to say as father of the citizens.
Saint Patrick on a day as he preached a sermon of the
patience and sufferance of the passion of our Lord Jesu Christ to the king of
the country, he leaned upon his crook or cross, and it happed by adventure that
he set the end of the crook, or his staff, upon the king’s foot, and pierced
his foot with the pike, which was sharp beneath. The king had supposed that
Saint Patrick had done it wittingly, for to move him the sooner to patience and
to the faith of God, but when Saint Patrick perceived it he was much abashed,
and by his prayers he healed the king. And furthermore he impetred and gat
grace of our Lord that no venomous beast might live in all the country, and yet
unto this day is no venomous beast in all Ireland.
After it happed on a time that a man of that country
stole a sheep, which belonged to his neighbour, whereupon Saint Patrick
admonested the people that whomsoever had taken it should deliver it again
within seven days. When all the people were assembled within the church, and
the man which had stolen it made no semblant to render ne deliver again this
sheep, then Saint Patrick commanded, by the virtue of God, that the sheep
should bleat and cry in the belly of him that had eaten it, and so happed it
that, in the presence of all the people, the sheep cried and bleated in the
belly of him that had stolen it. And the man that was culpable repented him of
his trespass, and the others from then forthon kept them from stealing of sheep
from any other man.
Also Saint Patrick was wont for to worship and do reverence
unto all the crosses devoutly that he might see, but on a time tofore the
sepulchre of a paynim stood a fair cross, which he passed and went forth by as
he had not seen it, and he was demanded of his fellows why he saw not that
cross. And then he prayed to God he said for to know whose it was, and he said
he heard a voice under the earth saying: Thou sawest it not because I am a
paynim that am buried here, and am unworthy that the sign of the cross should
stand there, wherefore he made the sign of the cross to be taken thence. On a
time as Saint Patrick preached in Ireland the faith of Jesu Christ, and did but
little profit by his predication, for he could not convert the evil, rude and
wild people, he prayed to our Lord Jesu Christ that he would show them some
sign openly, fearful and ghastful, by which they might be converted and be
repentant of their sins. Then, by the commandment of God, Saint Patrick made in
the earth a great circle with his staff, and anon the earth after the quantity
of the circle opened and there appeared a great pit and a deep, and Saint
Patrick by the revelation of God understood that there was a place of
purgatory, in to which whomsoever entered therein he should never have other
penance ne feel none other pain, and there was showed to him that many should
enter which should never return ne come again. And they that should return
should abide but from one morn to another, and no more, and many entered that
came not again. As touching this pit or hole which is named Saint Patrick’s
purgatory, some hold opinion that the second Patrick, which was an abbot and no
bishop, that God showed to him this place of purgatory; but certainly such a
place there is in Ireland wherein many men have been, and yet daily go in and
come again, and some have had there marvellous visions and seen grisly and
horrible pains, of whom there be books made as of Tundale and others. Then this
holy man Saint Patrick, the bishop, lived till he was one hundred and
twenty-two years old, and was the first that was bishop in Ireland, and died in
Aurelius Ambrose’s time that was king of Britain. In his time was the Abbot
Columba, otherwise named Colinkillus, and Saint Bride whom Saint Patrick
professed and veiled, and she over-lived him forty years. All these three holy
saints were buried in Ulster, in the city of Dunence, as it were in a cave with
three chambers. Their bodies were found at the first coming of King John, King
Harry the second’s son, into Ireland. Upon whose tombs these verses following
were written: Hic jacent in Duno qui tumulo tumulantur in uno, Brigida,
Patricius atque Columba plus, which is for to say in English: In Duno these
three be buried all in one sepulchre: Bride, Patrick, and Columba the mild.
Men say that this holy bishop, Saint Patrick, did
three great things. One is that he drove with his staff all the venomous beasts
out of Ireland. The second, that he had grant of our Lord God that none Irish
man shall abide the coming of Antichrist. The third wonder is read of his
purgatory, which is more referred to the less Saint Patrick, the Abbot. And
this holy abbot, because he found the people of that land rebel, he went out of
Ireland and came in to England in the Abbey of Glastonbury, where he died on a
Saint Bartholomew’s day. He flourished about the year of our Lord eight hundred
and fifty, and the holy bishop died the year of our Lord four hundred and
ninety in the one hundred and twenty-second year of his age, to whom pray we
that he pray for us.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/the-golden-legend-the-life-of-saint-patrick/
_-_stained_glass%2C_Saint_Patrick_-_detail.jpg)
Saint Patrick Catholic Church (Junction City, Ohio)
Patrizio nacque nella Britannia Romana nel 385 ca. da genitori cristiani appartenenti alla società romanizzata della provincia.
Il padre Calpurnio era diacono della comunità di Bannhaven Taberniae, loro città d’origine e possedeva anche un podere nei dintorni.
Il giovane Patrizio trascorse la sua fanciullezza e l’adolescenza in serenità, ricevendo un’educazione abbastanza elevata; a 16 anni villeggiando nel podere del padre, venne fatto prigioniero insieme a migliaia di vittime dai pirati irlandesi e trasferito sulle coste nordiche dell’isola, qui fu venduto come schiavo.
Il padrone gli affidò il pascolo delle pecore; la vita grama, la libertà persa, il ritrovarsi in terra straniera fra gente che parlava una lingua che non capiva, la solitudine con le bestie, resero a Patrizio lo stare in questa terra verde e bellissima, molto spiacevole, per cui tentò ben due volte la fuga ma inutilmente.
Dopo sei anni di servitù, aveva man mano conosciuto i costumi dei suoi padroni, imparandone la lingua e così si rendeva conto che gli irlandesi non erano così rozzi come era sembrato all’inizio.
Avevano un organizzazione tribale che si rivelava qualcosa di nobile e i rapporti tra le famiglie e le tribù erano densi di rispetto reciproco.
Certo non erano cristiani e adoravano ancora gli idoli, ma cosa poteva fare lui che era ancora uno schiavo; quindi era sempre più convinto che doveva fuggire e il terzo tentativo questa volta riuscì.
Si imbarcò su una nave in partenza con il permesso del capitano e dopo tre giorni di navigazione sbarcò su una costa deserta della Gallia, era la primavera del 407, l’equipaggio e lui camminarono per 28 giorni durante i quali le scorte finirono, allora gli uomini che erano pagani, spinsero Patrizio a pregare il suo Dio per tutti loro; il giovane acconsentì e dopo un poco comparve un gruppo di maiali, con cui si sfamarono.
Qui i biografi non narrano come lasciò la Gallia e raggiunse i suoi; ritornato in famiglia Patrizio sognò che gli irlandesi lo chiamavano, interpretò ciò come una vocazione all’apostolato fra quelle tribù ancora pagane e avendo ricevuto esperienze mistiche, decise di farsi chierico e di convertire gl'irlandesi.
Si recò di nuovo in Gallia (Francia) presso il santo vescovo di Auxerre Germano, per continuare gli studi, terminati i quali fu ordinato diacono; la sua aspirazione era di recarsi in Irlanda ma i suoi superiori non erano convinti delle sue qualità perché poco colto.
Nel 431 in Irlanda fu mandato il vescovo Palladio da papa Celestino I, con l’incarico di organizzare una diocesi per quanti già convertiti al cristianesimo.
Patrizio nel frattempo completati gli studi, si ritirò per un periodo nel famoso monastero di Lérins di fronte alla Provenza, per assimilare con tutta la sua volontà la vita monastica, convinto che con questo carisma poteva impiantare la Chiesa tra i popoli celti e scoti, come erano chiamati allora gli irlandesi.
Con lo stesso scopo si recò in Italia nelle isole di fronte alla Toscana, per visitare i piccoli monasteri e capire che metodo fosse usato dai monaci per convertire gli abitanti delle isole.
Non è certo che abbia incontrato il papa a Roma, comunque secondo recenti studi, Patrizio fu consacrato vescovo e nominato successore di Palladio intorno al 460, finora gli antichi testi dicevano nel 432, in tal caso Palladio primo vescovo d’Irlanda avrebbe operato un solo anno, invece è più probabile che sia arrivato nell’isola intorno al 432 e confuso dai cronisti con Patrizio, perché il cognome di Palladio o il suo secondo nome, era appunto Patrizio.
Il metodo di evangelizzazione fu adatto ed efficace, gli irlandesi (celti e scoti) erano raggruppati in un gran numero di tribù che formavano piccoli stati sovrani (tuatha), quindi occorreva il favore del re di ogni singolo territorio, per avere il permesso di predicare e la protezione nei viaggi missionari.
Per questo scopo Patrizio faceva molti doni ai personaggi della stirpe reale ed anche ai dignitari che l’accompagnavano. Il denaro era in buona parte suo, che attingeva dalla vendita dei poderi paterni che aveva ereditato, non chiedendo niente ai suoi fedeli convertiti per evitare rimproveri d’avarizia.
La conversione dei re e dei nobili a cui mirava per primo Patrizio, portava di conseguenza alla conversione dei sudditi. Introdusse in Irlanda il monachesimo che di recente era sorto in Occidente e un gran numero di giovani aderirono con entusiasmo facendo fiorire conventi di monaci e vergini.
Certo non tutto fu facile, le persone più anziane erano restie a lasciare il paganesimo e inoltre Patrizio e i suoi discepoli dovettero subire l’avversione dei druidi (casta sacerdotale pagana degli antichi popoli celtici, che praticavano i riti nelle foreste, anche con sacrifici umani), i quali lo perseguitarono tendendogli imboscate e una volta lo fecero prigioniero per 15 giorni.
Patrizio nella sua opera apostolica ed organizzativa della Chiesa, stabilì delle diocesi territoriali con vescovi dotati di piena giurisdizione, i territori diocesani in genere corrispondevano a quelli delle singole tribù.
Non essendoci città come nell’impero romano, Patrizio seguendo l’esempio di altri santi missionari dell’epoca, istituì nelle sue cattedrali Capitoli organizzati in modo monastico come centri pastorali della zona (Sinodo).
Predicò in modo itinerante per alcuni anni, sforzandosi di formare un clero locale, infatti le ordinazioni sacerdotali furono numerose e fra questi non pochi discepoli divennero vescovi.
Secondo gli “Annali d’Ulster” nel 444, Patrizio fondò la sua sede ad Armagh nella contea che oggi porta il suo nome; evangelizzò soprattutto il Nord e il Nord-Ovest dell’Irlanda, nel resto dell’Isola ebbe dal 439 l’aiuto di altri tre vescovi continentali, Secondino, Ausilio e Isernino, la cui venuta non è tanto chiaro se per aiuto a Patrizio o indipendentemente da lui e poi uniti nella collaborazione reciproca.
Benché il santo vescovo vivesse per carità di Cristo fra ‘stranieri e barbari’ da anni, in cuor suo si sentì sempre romano con il desiderio di rivedere la sua patria Britannia e quella spirituale la Gallia; ma la sua vocazione missionaria non gli permise mai di lasciare la Chiesa d’Irlanda che Dio gli aveva affidato, in quella che fu la terra della sua schiavitù.
Patrizio ebbe vita difficile con gli eretici pelagiani, che per ostacolare la sua opera ricorsero anche alla calunnia, egli per discolparsi scrisse una “Confessione” chiarendo che il suo lavoro missionario era volere di Dio e che la sua avversione al pelagianesimo scaturiva dall’assoluto valore teologico che egli attribuiva alla Grazia; dichiarandosi inoltre ‘peccatore rusticissimo’ ma convertito per grazia divina.
L’infaticabile apostolo concluse la sua vita nel 461 nell’Ulster a Down, che prenderà poi il nome di Downpatrick.
Durante il secolo VIII il santo vescovo fu riconosciuto come apostolo nazionale dell’Irlanda intera e la sua festa al 17 marzo, è ricordata per la prima volta nella ‘Vita’ di s. Geltrude di Nivelles del VII secolo.
Intorno al 650, s. Furseo portò alcune reliquie di s. Patrizio a Péronne in Francia da dove il culto si diffuse in varie regioni d’Europa; in tempi moderni il suo culto fu introdotto in America e in Australia dagli emigranti cattolici irlandesi.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
Voir aussi : Jean Guiffan (Chargé d’enseignement à l’université de Nantes).
Saint Patrick et la christianisation de l'Irlande : http://www.clio.fr/BIBLIOTHEQUE/saint_patrick_et_la_christianisation_de_l_irlande.asp
