Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, Scotland, in the year 387, along with St. Nicholas and St. Valentine, St. Patrick is a saint known and loved by the secular world.
There are many legends and stories of St. Patrick, but this is his story. As a boy of fourteen or so, he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him. During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer.
Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped. He had dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."
He began his studies for the priesthood. Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop,
and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. Patrick preached and converted
all of Ireland for 40 years. After years of living in poverty, traveling
and enduring much suffering he died March
17, 461.
Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and it has been associated
with him and the Irish since that time.
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. He feared
nothing,
not even death, so complete was his trust in God, and of the importance
of his mission.
St. Patrick School began its mission to provide excellent Catholic education to children in Lewis County over 90 years ago. The church school of St. Patrick Catholic Church, it opened its doors in 1914. The children of St. Patrick Parish and St. Boniface Parish, as well as area children who attend other churches, continue to come within St. Patrick's walls to achieve, learn, and grow in their faith.
