Who Was St. Patrick?

St. Patrick’s Day is all about being Irish, good luck, leprechauns, and corn beef and cabbage....right?

Well, not exactly. 

St. Patrick’s Day is a day that we remember and celebrate a Christian man who was faithful to God in both prayer and obedience. 

Patrick was a prayer warrior, he knew his God, and he boldly obeyed God and preached the Gospel to all of Ireland. 

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and also to the Greek.” — Romans 1:16, CSB

Patrick, who’s birth name was Maewyn Succat, was born in England – near the Irish Sea – in 387 A.D. As a teenager, he was captured by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland where he was sold into slavery. 

As a slave, he was put in charge of his master’s sheep. He spent his days tending the flocks, spending hours upon hours alone with thoughts. 

This reminds me of David in the Bible.

He was a shepherd boy who spent days and hours tending his father’s flocks. And how did David spend all the sometimes dull hours? He prayed and wrote songs to the Lord. We know this because we have the book of Psalms. We can see the depth of David’s faith. A faith that had to be developed over years spent talking with and learning from God. 

Likewise, while tending sheep, Patrick (Maeywn Succat) would spend hours – day and night – in communion with God. Some sources say he even prayed as much as 100 times a day and 100 times a night!

Both David and Patrick used their waiting years – their time alone – to grow closer to God. They learned to recognize the voice and leadings of God. 

One night, after six years in slavery, Patrick heard God’s voice telling him to get up and leave for a ship was waiting for him. So Patrick, knowing the voice of God, obeyed.

He traveled a great distance and found a ship waiting. He convinced the captain to take him aboard by offering to pay his fare. Patrick trusted God and God provided him with a means of escape from Ireland. 

God continued to guide Patrick and provide for him and those he traveled with. 

According to legend, the ship he boarded landed after a three day sail. Patrick and the crew – they were pagans – traveled through a deserted countryside for nearly a month with little to no food. 

The captain of the ship then confronted Patrick and challenged his God to provide for them. Patrick, who had faith in his God from years of spending time in His presence, prayed and asked the Lord for food. 

Later that day, a herd of pigs appeared. The crew was able to catch and kill them. They all enought to eat for the rest of their journey. God had provided, allowing Patrick to witness to his travel companions.

This reminds me of another famous person in the Bible: the Apostle Paul.

In the Paul’s journey to Rome (Acts 27-28), God’s provided life and shelter and food to Paul and those with him. God took care of Paul and his friends, yet he also provided and rescued the pagan soldiers and sailors who were with him. 

After two years of traveling, Patrick finally returned home. Once at home, he started recieving visions and dreams from God calling him back to Ireland to share the Gospel.

In order to prepare for this calling, Patrick moved to France to study. He became ordained in the Catholic Church as a priest, and later, a bishop. It was at this point that he took on the name Patrick. 

In March of 433 A.D., Patrick journeyd back to Ireland to preach the Gospel. It was not an easy ministry – as his life was threatened on many occasions – but it was a fruitful one. 

God used Patrick to spread His light and life throughout all of Ireland. Patrick continuously relied on God through prayer and petition.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  — Philippians 4:6-7, NIV

During Patrick’s ministry, the famous story of the shamrock came to pass. 

Patrick was preaching on the nature of the Trinity, but was having no luck at making it understandable to the Irish. He then saw a three leaf clover – a shamrock – at his feet. He picked it up and explained that it was one shamrock just as God is one God. Yet, the one stem of the shamrock had three leaves just as the one God had three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Patrick remained in Ireland preaching the Gospel until his death on March 17th, 461 A.D.

Patrick was able to serve God in such a mighty way because he spent his formative years – he spent A LOT of time – with God. In his lonely, waiting season, Patrick prayed and prayed and prayed. He used that season to know God and grow closer to Him. 

He could’ve spent all his waiting years daydreaming about a life outside of slavery. 

He could’ve have spent all his waiting years complaining about how horrible and unfair his life was as a lonely slave.

Yet, instead of wasting his time with useless thoughts and complaints, he used his time to draw closer and closer to God. 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” — James 4:8, ESV

Since Patrick used his waiting years wisely and because he sought God out in prayer, God was able to prepare Patrick – and later use him – to do great things for His kingdom. 

Because Patrick spent his waiting years building his relationship with God, he was able to use his ministry years building the kingdom of God throughout all of Ireland.

So what are you waiting for right now? 

“If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place…Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.” – Esther 4:14, CSB

Are you using this waiting season to build your relationship with God?

Are you spending time with Him in prayer? Are you spending time in His Word? 

Start building a routine to help you grow that relationship.

If you take walks, turn them into prayer walks. 

If you do the dishes and cook, turn it into a prayer session or listen to the Bible. 

If you like to journal, start a prayer journal – keeping track of all the little (and big!) ways God is showing up in your daily life. 

You’d be amazed at how often you can squeeze God into your every day routine. And if you think it’s too hard, then ask God to help you see all those little open crack you have throughout the day. 

God WANTS to spend time with you. So if you ask Him to help you, He WILL do it!

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
— Luke 1:37, ESV

Let’s all learn from Patrick. Instead of wasting away our waiting season wishing for ‘good luck’...let’s use our this time to pray and draw closer to God. He’s waiting for you!

*The historical information about St. Patrick was taken from the sources listed below. 

A few St. Patrick’s Day fun facts:

• This holiday has been celebrated in Ireland for more than 1,000 years. 
• Irish immigrants brought this holiday to the United States. The first celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in Boston, Massachusetts was celebrated in 1737 (38 years prior to the American Revolution). 
• Patrick is not actually a canonized saint in the Catholic church. He was given the name saint by the locals (the Irish people) since he meant so much to them. This was a common practice in Patrick’s day. Many of the “saints” in his day were proclaimed saints by the local communities but were never officially recognized as saints by the Catholic church.

*All of these fun facts were taken from sources listed below.

Sources:

Catholic Online. “St. Patrick - Saints & Angels.” Catholic Online, 2025. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=89.

dePaola, Tomie. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland (1992). https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1270829.Patrick.

Kids Book Read Aloud: Patrick The Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola

Irish Central Staff. “St. Patrick’s Breastplate: The Prayer of Ireland’s Patron Saint.” IrishCentral.com, March 1, 2025. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/st-patricks-breastplate-prayer-irelands-patron-saint.

Piccotti, Tyler. “Saint Patrick: Biography, Missionary, Patron Saint of Ireland.” Biography, March 14, 2023. https://www.biography.com/religious-figures/saint-patrick.