Profile of the Day: Saint Patrick

Posted March 17, 2015 by Amanda | 2 Comments

Saint Patrick

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The lively Irish holiday takes place every year on March 17, the traditional day of death for Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. In honor of St. Paddy’s Day, here are some surprising things you may not know about St. Patrick:

He was kidnapped by pirates at the age of 16 from his home in Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. He lived there for six years before escaping and returning to his family. It wasn’t until he became a cleric later in life that he returned to Ireland.
He probably didn’t really banish snakes. Legend tells us that St. Patrick had banished all the snakes from Ireland by chasing them out to sea. However, scientific evidence suggest that snakes were never in Ireland in the first place due to the icy water that surrounds the country.
Patrick used a shamrock to illustrate the Holy Trinity.
The original color for St. Patrick was blue. After the Order of St. Patrick was established in 1783, the organization chose the color blue to standout. Nowadays green is often associated with St. Patrick.
Although acknowledged as a Saint, St. Patrick was never formally canonized by a pope.

Explore his family tree on Geni and share how you’re related to Saint Patrick!