Patrick, Saint, 373?-463

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Saint Patrick was a fifth-century Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland. Patrick was never formally canonised; he is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Church of Ireland (part of the Anglican Communion), and in the Eastern Orthodox Church, where he is regarded as equal-to-the-apostles and Enlightener of Ireland.

The dates of Patrick's life cannot be fixed with certainty, but there is general agreement that he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the fifth century. According to Patrick's autobiographical Confessio, when he was about sixteen he was captured by Irish pirates from his home in Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. He writes that he lived there for six years as an animal herder before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a cleric, he returned to spread Christianity in northern and western Ireland. In later life, he served as a bishop, but little is known about where he worked. By the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

His feast day is observed on 17 March, the supposed date of his death. It is celebrated in Ireland and among the Irish diaspora as a religious and cultural holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Hary, Nicoletta Mattioli, 1927-. Relics and reliquaries collection, 1795-1999. University of Dayton, Roesch Library
referencedIn Trinity College (Dublin, Ireland). Library. [Book of Armagh] [microform]. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn A Volume in folio, on paper: containing,1. Observations concerning the Six Clerks in Chancery, and the Waiting-Clerks, or Clerks writing under the Six Clerks, drawn up by Mr. Deaves Secretary to the Master of the Rolls. fol. 1. 2. Papers relative to... British Library
referencedIn McGinty, Bonaventure Thomas. Speeches, 1942-1952. Campbell University, Wiggins Memorial Library
creatorOf Utting, Craig. Confessio of St. Patrick : for choir, speaker & bass solo / Craig Utting. National Library of New Zealand
referencedIn Collection of relics and reliquaries, 1795-1999 University of Dayton
referencedIn O'Briein, Tomás,. Cómhráidhte idir Páttraice agus Oisin : manuscript, 1820 and undated. Houghton Library
referencedIn Gogarty, Oliver St. John, 1878-1957. Oliver St. John Gogarty collection, 1923-1951. Boston College. John J. Burns Library
referencedIn Beatha S. Mairghread : manuscript, 1819-1822. Boston College. John J. Burns Library
creatorOf Washington, Gary, 1953-. In heaven and earth : for mixed voices (SATB) a capella / Gary Washington. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Patrick, Saint, 373?-463?. Confessio et Epistola fo. 72r-85v. [microform] University of Tennessee, John C. Hodges Library
referencedIn Reeves, William, 1815-1892. Letter: 1856 July 10, Ballymena, to David Laing / Wm. Reeves. University of Edinburgh - Main Library, Edinburgh University Library
referencedIn Hopkins, S. M. (Samuel Miles), 1813-1901. Essays of Samuel Miles Hopkins [manuscript], ca. 1880. Folger Shakespeare Library
referencedIn Boswell, Winthrop Palmer. Three typescripts, 1985, 1991, and 1998. Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bibliothèque nationale de France. corporateBody
associatedWith Boswell, Winthrop Palmer. person
associatedWith Collected by the Congregation of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (Springfield, Ill.) corporateBody
associatedWith Gogarty, Oliver St. John, 1878-1957. person
associatedWith Hary, Nicoletta Mattioli, 1927- person
associatedWith Hopkins, S. M. (Samuel Miles), 1813-1901. person
associatedWith McGinty, Bonaventure Thomas. person
associatedWith Reeves, William, 1815-1892. person
associatedWith Utting, Craig. person
associatedWith Washington, Gary, 1953- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Ireland 00 IE
Subject
Christian saints
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 373?

Death 463?

Irish (Republic of Ireland)

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