St. Patrick

[OnlyNatural]

I saw this letter to the editor in the newspaper today. Just wondering if any of it is accurate, and what your thoughts are on St. Patrick, since I don't know all that much about saints.

For most people, St. Patrick’s Day is a day of parades, parties, leprechauns and green beer. But just as Christmas is about more than commercialized fun, so is St. Patrick’s Day.

It began as a religious holiday honouring St. Patrick — a holy bishop sent to Ireland in 433 AD by Pope Celestine I to draw its people into the fold of Christ’s universal church. Upon his arrival at Ireland’s shores St. Patrick encountered many setbacks and persecutions by the superstitious Druids who had employed magicians to maintain their sway over the Irish race. Despite severe trials, St. Patrick was able to convert all of Ireland and conquer paganism. He is thus credited with driving the Celtic “snakes” out of Ireland.

St. Patrick is credited with many miracles and is responsible for the building of several Catholic schools, monasteries and churches throughout Ireland. He even used the three-leaved shamrock to teach people about the Blessed Trinity. St. Patrick was a humble, pious gentle man, whose love and total devotion to and trust in God should be a shining example to each of us.

[DeistPaladin]

Irony alert: Did a Christian actually use these words?

persecutions ... superstitious ... employed magicians ...
St. Patrick is credited with many miracles

[OnlyNatural]

Irony alert: Did a Christian actually use these words?

persecutions ... superstitious ... employed magicians ...
St. Patrick is credited with many miracles

Hehe yeah... I thought that was pretty ironic of him too. Oh well... this particular guy is always writing biased Catholic letters to this paper.

[Welsh cake]

For most people, St. Patrick’s Day is a day of parades, parties, leprechauns and green beer. But just as Christmas is about more than commercialized fun, so is St. Patrick’s Day.

It began as a religious holiday honouring St. Patrick — a holy bishop sent to Ireland in 433 AD by Pope Celestine I to draw its people into the fold of Christ’s universal church. Upon his arrival at Ireland’s shores St. Patrick encountered many setbacks and persecutions by the superstitious Druids who had employed magicians to maintain their sway over the Irish race. Despite severe trials, St. Patrick was able to convert all of Ireland and conquer paganism. He is thus credited with driving the Celtic “snakes” out of Ireland.

Horribly inaccurate.

Only two authentic letters accepted by historians from him survive today. These give an account that he either born in England or Wales and grew up near the settlement of Bannavem Taburniae (the problem is this name cannot be traced to any location on any old map of Britain). At 16, he was captured by Irish raiders and taken as a slave back to Ireland, he was NOT sent there by Pope Celestine I.

The idiot who wrote this article for the newspaper is confusing Palladius, the first Bishop of the Christians of Ireland, with Saint Patrick, who preceded him.

[HeyItsZeus]

This info on San Patrizio is wrong.

[Jax]

Correct me if I wrong, but it seems that Christians try to steal other holiday events as their own.
For example
-Easter is actually a Pagan holiday which celebrate one of it's goddesses, it was stolen into Christianity to encourage people to converting.
-Christmas was originally not a Christian holiday, from what I've heard, Christians took it from the Pagans "again" and made it into their own. I've also heard from other people it had something to do with the Winter Solistice/Yule. It pisses me straight off when people say why do non-christians celebrate christmas when they were the one who actually stole it from another religion.
-Valentine's Day... again, stolen from the roman people.
Heck, they probably stole half the calender and added Jesus in most of them.

They might even try and change independence day into a christian holiday.

[theVOID]

St Pattys is an excuse to drink heavily and chase whores, who gives a shit what delusional asshole it's named after?

[Minimalist]

Patrick himself seems to have been a rather ordinary guy who, after his death, was given the full church spin-cycle and given credit for a bunch of fucking miracles.

They are pulling the same shit with the pervert-protecting John Paul II.

[theVOID]

That's always the way it happens, some idiot comes finds themselves in an unlikely situation and BAM! Miracle!