St. Patrick of Ireland was born in 387. There are many stories surrounding the origin of St. Patrick. The most credible says that he was born in Britain during the Roman occupation and was a Roman citizen. His father was a deacon, and his grandfather was a priest in the Catholic Church. Much of what we know about Patrick we get from his autobiography, The Confessions. At 16 years of age, he was abducted by pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave. The Celtic pagan tribes who lived in Ireland were Druids. He escaped after several years.
Patrick did not follow in his dad’s footsteps and become a Roman soldier. He felt called to serve the Lord and His Church by being ordained a priest. He went back to Ireland to convert the people who had originally kidnapped him. While there, he became a bishop and was very successful in replacing paganism with Christianity.
Legend has it that he explained the mystery of the Holy Trinity (Three Persons in One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to the Irish king by using a shamrock. Folklore also has him driving out all the snakes from Ireland.