Bishop († c. 461) Feast Day: 17 March
<br><em>Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage (Mt 5:4).</em><br><br>According to Pope Francis, “Meekness can be seen by how one reacts to a hostile situation. Anyone can appear meek when everything is peaceful, but how does one react if one is under attack, offended, threatened?”
<br>Patrick knew hostility. He was fifteen when he was captured from his family’s estate in northwest Britain and made a slave to an Irish chieftain. He was not an especially religious boy, but his six-year captivity became a training-ground for prayer. Even as he was tried by hunger, loneliness, and the raw Irish weather, he came to realise his deep dependence on God.<br><br>Inspired in a dream, he escaped at last and returned to his homeland. His family made him promise never to leave again. But then, in another dream, a letter came “from the Irish”: “We beseech you, holy youth, to come and walk once more among us.” Patrick admitted: “I was exceedingly touched in my heart and could read no more.”<br><br>He was ordained a priest and then consecrated a bishop, and sold his own inheritance to finance the mission. Returning to Ireland, Patrick devoted the rest of his life to serving those who had once enslaved him. He braved all sorts of dangers and hostility to teach, preach, and baptise. He ordained young men and saw many young women consecrate their lives to Christ.<br><br>The “Apostle to the Irish”, Patrick is venerated worldwide – as well as celebrated, with his Feast Day that falls on 18 March being an <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/st-patricks-day-in-america-then-and-now-the-irish-american-diaspora-is-as-vibrant-as-ever/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">annual fixture</mark></a> in the likes of New York City and across the United States. <br><br><em>All-loving Father, through the intercession of Saint Patrick, help me to serve even those who revile me.</em><br><br><strong>This profile first appeared in the December 2021 edition of <em>Magnificat</em> and is taken from the <em>Catholic Herald</em> newsletter that features a regular "Saint of the Week" column. You can subscribe to <em>Magnificat</em> <mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color"><a href="https://catholicherald.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c9f22213bc06963a5e8df3944&id=329a6f07b5&e=7e5f5c50ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a></mark> and also to the newsletter (at the bottom of the same page).</strong>
