St. Patrick (and his day)

There are many people who celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but few know who he was, much less what he did. They dress themselves in green and proclaim themselves Irish. Let me give you a little information, just so that when someone asks you if you know anything about him, you can five the affirmative.

Patrick was captured at age 16 by a band of marauders, and taken to Ireland as a slave. Six years later, when he had attained his freedom, he went to Gaul. There he studied at a monastery under the bishop of Auxerre, for twelve years. He became convinced of his calling and travelled back to Ireland to convert the pagans to Christianity. For thirty years he carried out his ministry there. He settled down in County Down after he retired, until he died on March 17, AD 461.

The symbol of the three-leafed clover originated from one of St, Patrick's popular sermons, in which he used the article to communicate the message of the Trinity. He would explain how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost could be separate elements of the same entity. Many adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on St. Patrick's Day. This celebration first came to America in 1737, in the town of Boston, Massachusetts. Today it is generally celebrated by wearing green, assembling parades, and sometimes hosting a picnic or party. But whatever you do, you better wear green, because some people can pinch pretty hard.