Jim Bradshaw: Claimed by the Irish, St. Patrick also had ties to France

Besides the fact that we will throw a party on the flimsiest of excuses, it is solid theologically for French Louisiana to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
You see, he spent much of his religious life in France, and he wasn’t Irish at all.
He was born about 375 A.D. in either Scotland or Wales and his real name was Maewyn Succat.
His parents were Calpurnius and Concessa, who were Romans living in Britain during the Roman occupation that ended about 410 A.D.
The boy was kidnapped by pirates as a teenager and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he worked as a shepherd for six years.
He began to have religious visions during this time, one of which showed him how to escape to a getaway ship.
The ship took him to Britain, where he was reunited with his family.
But his calling to the cloth drew him away again, and he want to France (Gaul in those days) and began studies for the priesthood.
He was ordained in 417 or 418, and scholars differ about what happened next.
Most of them say he remained at Auxerre, the place of his ordination, and served as a priest there.
Others claim that he worked in Ireland as a priest from 418 to 432.
In any case, he was in Auxerre in 432, when, at the age of 60, he was made a bishop.
That’s when he took the name of Patrick and traveled to Ireland to replace Bishop Palladius, who had been martyred the year before.
One legend says that one of the chiefs of an Irish tribe wanted to kill Patrick as soon as he arrived there, but that, instead, Patrick converted the chief by miraculously making it impossible for the chief to move his sword arm until he adopted the faith.
According to another legend, Patrick spent 40 days on a mountain in County Mayo, where he was harassed by demonic blackbirds.
An angel eventually answered Patrick’s prayers, drove the blackbirds away, and told Patrick that the Irish would retain their Christian faith until Judgment Day.
Another well-known story is that Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity to the faithful.
The symbol has been associated with Ireland ever since.
The most famous legend credits Patrick with banishing all snakes from Ireland.
This is probably a metaphor for driving pagans from the country, since most authorities agree that there were never any snakes in Ireland to be driven out.
We celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on March 17 because it is the anniversary of his death after 30 years of ministry in Ireland — and probably nearly that many years spent preaching in France.
St. Patrick is said to be buried at Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down, alongside St. Brigid and St. Columba, although this has never been proven.
As a descendant of Babins, Landrys and Vincents on one side and of Gallaghers on the other, I can properly celebrate the day, no matter where St. Patrick lived and worked, and I will.
You can contact Jim Bradshaw at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.