Saint Patrick

Patrick was born in Roman Britain, the son of a deacon, and lived in the fifth century. At about sixteen he was seized by raiders and taken to Ireland as a slave, where he herded animals for six years and turned to prayer. He escaped home, was later ordained, and returned to Ireland as a bishop, spending the rest of his life preaching there.

We know him in his own words through two writings, his Confession and a letter against a slave-raiding chieftain. Legend adds that he taught the Trinity with a shamrock and drove the snakes from Ireland. Painters show him as a bishop with a crozier and mitre, often holding a shamrock, with snakes at his feet.