Maewyn Succat

We have been posting a lot about piracy and kidnapping recently.  Today is a reminder about how little things change over the centuries.  Somewhere around the year 400 AD, a lad of 16, named Maewyn Succat, was kidnapped by pirates from his home in Britain and was taken as a slave to Ireland.  He was a slave for six years, during which time he converted to Christianity.   He finally escaped and returned to his family in England.  He  became a priest and studied at a seminary in France.   When he was almost 60, he returned to Ireland.  By then Pope Celestine I had given him the name “Patercius” or “Patritius.”    We know him better these days as Patrick.   He did alright in Ireland.   He founded over three hundred churches and apparently had a way with snakes.   Today is his feast day.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.