How Saint Patrick Became the Patron Saint of Ireland

By the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire was beginning to fall apart. The Roman Empire was losing control of its provinces and Rome itself was beginning to be threatened by raids from Northern Tribes. Indeed, there was no "Roman Empire" anymore as it had actually been divided into Eastern and Western portions. In 407AD, Rome withdrew from Britain entirely in order to have more legions available for defending Rome itself. Long before then, however, Rome had started having difficulty imposing law and order in Britain. Raids by Celtic pirates were common and many Britons were enslaved during these raids. History remembers the names of few of those who were kidnapped in Britain by the Celts, but one of those young prisoners, Patricius, remains well known today as Saint Patick.

While little is known with any certainty about Saint Patrick, it is believed that he was a Briton who was about fifteen or sixteen years old when he was kidnapped from his home along the coast of Western Britain around 400AD. He was captured by Celts and forced into slavery in Ireland. There, he worked as a sheepherder for over five years before he managed to escape. After walking over two hundred miles from where he was imprisoned to the coast, he obtained passage aboard a ship and finally returned home at the age of 20 or 21. His parents had long given him up for dead and were overjoyed to see him, but begged him never to leave home again.