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Patrick was born around 385
in Scotland, probably Kilpatrick. His parents
were Calpurnius and Conchessa, who were Romans
living in Britian in charge of the colonies.
As a boy of fourteen or so,
he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland
as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Ireland
at this time
was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language
and practices of the people who held him.
During his captivity, he
turned to God
in prayer. He wrote
"The love of God
and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith,
and my soul
was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many
as a hundred prayers
and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed
in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I
felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."
Patrick's captivity lasted
until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a
dream from God
in which he was told to leave Ireland
by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who
took him back to Britian, where he reunited with his
family.
He had another dream in
which the people of Ireland
were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to
come and walk among us once more."
He began his studies for
the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop
of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years.
Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop,
and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He arrived
in Ireland
March 25, 433, at Slane. |
