The uncontested, if somewhat unspecific, biographical facts about Saint Patrick suggest he was born AD 385 in Scotland, probably Kilpatrick. His parents were Calpurnius and Conshessa, who were Romans living in Britain in charge of the colonies. The family was relatively wealthy. As a boy of fourteen, Patrick was abducted by an Irish raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep on Slemish mountain in County Antrim. During his confinement and loneliness he turned to God in prayer. Patrick's captivity lasted six years. He escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland. Patrick traveled to the coast and with the aid of some sailors he was taken back to Britain and united with his family.
Following his return home he began his studies for the priesthood and was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he studied under for years. Following his ordination, his plan was to return to Ireland as a missionary and spread the word of God to the pagan Irish. He set out to accomplish that mission, only this time under a more favorable star. However, a slight bump in his travel plan landed him in County Down.
County Down boarders on the Irish sea which invades the land, forming the great Strangford. Lough. When Saint Patrick came to Ireland in AD 432, his intention was to sail up the coast to County Antrim where, as a young slave, he tended flocks for six years on Slemish mountain. However, the strong currents swept his boat through Strangford's tidal narrows and he landed where the Slaney river flows into the lough.
Undaunted by this change, Patrick set about his missionary business. If the year AD 385 is accepted as his year of birth, Patrick would have been forty-seven years old on his second trip to Ireland.
One of Saint Patrick's earliest converts, a man by the name of Dichu, (the chieftain) gave him a barn which he could turn into a church and initiate his missionary campaign. This occurred at a place now named Saul, nothing to do with the biblical king, but a anglicized version of the old Irish word, Sciobol, meaning barn.
It is not clear how long Saint Patrick ministered, however, Kings, their families, and entire kingdoms converted to Christianity when hearing Saint Patrick's message.
Sometime in the latter part of the fifth-century, Saint Patrick realized his time was drawing to an end. He returned to the place of his beginning as a missionary, Saul, County Down, and on March 17th, a fateful date now renowned and celebrated the world over as his feast day, he went home to God. Historical sources written centuries after his death disagree on where the saint was laid to rest. Not surprisingly, different places claimed him for themselves, but Saul must remain one of the strong claimants.
Even if it is to be regretted that the location of Saint Patrick's grave had already been forgotten by as early as the ninth century, it matters little to us today where his bones lie. What is more important is that, wherever we are upon this earth, we should honor and respect the name and work of this remarkable man. Like many great men, he was a simple person, whose humility in the sight of God comes across to us so crystal clear in one of his two brief documents, Confession . He managed to sow the seed of the Christian gospel among the Irish without the spilling of a drop of martyr's blood , and it was through the Irish who honor him so much that they made him their National Apostle. For this gift we must all be thankful, and his annual feast day on March 17th gives the Irish an opportunity to express their thanks and celebrate the memory of this man to whom we all owe so much.