THE STORY OF THE SAINTS - BY FATHER ED

St. Patrick (385-461) Patrick was born in Britain, probably in Wales. He was the son of Calpurnius Sucatus, a municipal official. At age 16 he was kidnapped by pirates and was sold into slavery in Ireland. There he learned the Celtic language and converted to the Catholic Faith. Later he fled to France, where he became a disciple of St. Germain of Auxerre and he visited the monastery on the Isle of Lerins, near Cannes (412-415). Returning to Auxerre, where he spent the next 15 years, Patrick was ordained a priest. Some time later Pope Celestine I sent Palladius as a missionary to Ireland but he died within a year. Consequently, St. Germain ordained Patrick Bishop so that he could continue the work of Palladius. He converted many of the native chieftains and was very successful in adapting the Gospel to the Irish culture. Ireland is the only country in Western Europe in which the Church was established without martyrdom. A few years before his death, Patrick convoked a synod and turned over the government of the Church in Ireland to other Bishops. He died on March 17, 461 and was buried at Saul on Strangford Lough, where he had built his first church.