Story of St. Patrick

Being of Irish decent St. Patrick has always been one of my favorite patron saints.

The story goes that he brought Christianity and drove the snakes out of Ireland, but this is only the by product of hundred of years of storytelling. He is the parton saint of Ireland, but even for his celebrity status his life still remains somewhat of a mystery.

He was born towards the end of the 4th century in Britian to wealthy parents. At the age of 16, he was taken prisoner by a group of Iris raiders who attacked the family's estate. He was then transported to Ireland where he spent the next 6 years in captivity. He worked as a lonely shepherd and turned to religion for solace and become a devote Christian. It is at this time it is belived he began to dream of converting the Irish people to Christianity.

After six years he excaped . His writings state that he heard a voice which he belived to be God telling him to leave Ireland. He returned to Britian where it is reported that he had a second revelation-an angel in a dream telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. He began training and after being ordained as a priest he was sent to Ireland with a duel mission to minister to Christians already living in Ireland and to beging to convert the Irish.

Familiar with the language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional Irish ritual in his lessons. For example he uses bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were use to doing so to worshop their gods. He also superimposed a sun, a powerul Irish symbol, on the the Christian cross to create what is now known as the Celtic cross.

Most Irish practiced a nature based pagan religion.With culture centering around a rich tradition of oral legend and myth, it is know wonder how the story of St Patrick's life become an exaggerated one over the centuries. Spinning exciting tales to remember history has always been a part of the Irish way of life.

I have created this rosary to help celebrate the legend of St. Patrick.

You can find this for sale on in my new shop Designsbynoramarie.etsy.com

Facts found on History.com