Saint Patrick’s Day has come to be associated with everything Irish: anything green and gold, shamrocks and luck. In American cities with a large Irish population, St. Patrick’s Day is a very big deal. Big cities and small towns alike celebrate with parades, “wearing of the green”, music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring, and games. Some communities even go as far as to dye rivers or streams green. Most importantly, to those who celebrate its intended meaning, St. Patrick’s Day is a traditional day for spiritual renewal and offering prayers for missionaries worldwide because of the labor and influence of a former slave.

Meet Patrick: missionary and church planter. Patrick was born in Kirkpatrick, Scotland about the year 387. His parents took residence in Bannavem Taberniae in Britain, where his father, Calpurnius, was a deacon and his grandfather, Potitus, was a priest. Patrick grew up religious but not converted, but all that would change in his youth. About the age of 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish pirates (sea robbers) who were attacking his family’s estate. When they arrived to Ireland he was sold into slavery to Milchu, the king of Dalaradia, which was the most powerful kingdom in Northeast Ireland. Milchu was a high priest of Druidism (a nature-based pagan religion). It was during Patrick’s job of tending the cattle and sheep of his master in outdoors and solitude that he became convinced of the Gospel. After more than six years as a prisoner Patrick escaped after God spoke to him in a dream telling him it was time to leave Ireland.

After escaping to Britain, Patrick reported having a second dream with another message telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. To further his education, Patrick went to France and studied under the missionary Germanus of Auxerre. Patrick knew of the daunting task that lay ahead of him. There had already been some Christians in Ireland, and a missionary named Palladius had lately attempted to labor there, but allowed himself to be discouraged and had withdrawn. Patrick had more zeal and patience than Palladius, and gave all the remainder of his life to the Irish, even to the point of denying himself the pleasure of paying a visit to his native country after being ordained a priest and bishop.

Patrick navigated to the harbors of Wicklow, just like Palladius, and was received in a hostile manner by the pagans of Wicklow upon landing. A shower of stones greeted them, and knocked out the front teeth of one of his companions. Patrick persisted with preaching and teaching the Gospel as he convinced pagan Druids that they were worshiping idols under Celtic paganism that kept them enslaved. He made his first convert Dichu, a local chief, and planted his first church in a barn which Dichu gave him, and has since continued to be a Christian place of worship. Patrick soon directed steps towards king Milchu’s residence, were he had spent the days of his captivity. Patrick’s fame had reached Milchu, whose Druids warned him that his former slave would triumph over him. So Milchu set fire to all his household goods and perished in their midst just as Patrick appeared.

Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to contextualize his lessons of Christianity into the native Irish beliefs. For example, Patrick knew the Irish honored their gods with fire, so he challenged the authority of the king of Ireland, Laoghaire, by lighting his Paschal fire on Easter Eve on the hill Slane in honor of the risen Christ. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish. Throughout his missionary work, Patrick continued to advance the Church to Ireland by electing church officials, creating councils, founding monasteries and organizing Ireland into dioceses.

Although never officially canonized as a Saint, Saint Patrick is honored on March 17 and has been declared the national apostle of Ireland. Patrick’s influence is seen even in the national flower of Ireland, the Shamrock, in which Patrick used to explain the holy Trinity to pagans. Not only can we learn much about a man who was gripped by the Gospel, but we also see the sovereign plan of God unfolding to bring the Gospel to all people groups. May God put into you a love for a community, city or country to reach with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.