Pastor's Message
March 2026
St. Patrick's Day
Continuing our series on special days within the year, their background and their Christian significance, this month our attention turns to St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Much like Valentine’s Day, there is the historical background, the legends around the person, and what it has become today. Historically, St. Patrick’s Day is not about corned beef and cabbage or green beer. It’s about a Christian man who served God by sharing the gospel with his former captors.
Like St. Valentine, it takes some effort to sort out the fact from the fiction, especially since he lived over 1500 years ago. The good news is that we have two surviving documents attributed to him: The Confession of St. Patrick (his spiritual biography) and Letter to Coroticus (condemning the enslavement of Christians).
Patrick was not his birth name; near as we can tell, it was Maewyn Succat. He was born in the late 4th Century, either 373 or 390 A.D., in England to a Roman-British army officer and church deacon. According to The Confession, he was not very religious as a child and he presents himself as uneducated, sinful and quite worldly. But, at age 16, he was captured by Irish pirates who took him back to Ireland and made him a slave.
For the next six years, he worked as a herdsman tending to sheep and pigs. This enslavement drove him to God. He was deeply repentant and was constantly in prayer. Through his suffering, God awakened his faith.
According to Patrick, he heard a voice tell him to go home and that a ship was waiting for him. He fled 200 miles to a port where he would convince the captain to take him along. However, the ship landed in France, not Britain, and they wandered around for 28 days and became faint with hunger. Patrick prayed for food and they encountered a herd of wild pigs, ate them, and Patrick encouraged them to put their trust in the Lord.
Eventually, he returned to England. There, he again heard a voice, the voice of the Irish calling him back to Ireland to teach them about God. He didn’t feel qualified, so he entered a monastery in France, became a priest and later a bishop (and gained the name Patrick, or “nobleman”) before returning to Ireland twelve years later.
Although Patrick was not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, he did spend twenty years preaching the gospel throughout the country. Things didn’t always go smoothly. Local chiefs and druids fought with him and sometimes imprisoned him, but he was always released and writes about baptizing thousands of people. He wrote, “Never before did they know of God except to serve idols and unclean things. But now, they have become the people of the Lord, and are called children of God.” He established several churches and monastic communities. It is widely accepted that he died on March 17, probably around 461 A.D.
Now for the legends:
“St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland.” Not true. Ireland didn’t have snakes after the Ice Age. More likely, “snakes” are a metaphor for pagans and pagan beliefs. Driving them out of Ireland would be symbolic for the religious change happening in the country.
“St. Patrick used a shamrock to teach the Trinity.” While it is possible, there is no historical record of him doing this. It is an effective visual, which is probably why the story stuck, but there is no proof that he did this.
“Patrick single-handedly converted all of Ireland.” Obviously, this is an overreach. Patrick himself never made such a claim. While he played a significant role in the spread of Christianity there, obviously others helped and built upon his work. In fact, in Patrick’s Confession, he is very humble and gives all glory to God. God called him; God guided him; God protected him. Any success is credited entirely to God, not his own skill. He closes his confession with worship not self-justification, grace not self-righteousness.
With such a spiritual foundation, how did St. Patrick’s Day become what it is today? Historically, St. Patrick’s Day was a solemn, holy day in Ireland, so much so that pubs were closed. As Irish immigrants moved to America, St. Patrick’s Day became as much of a celebration of Irish culture as it was the gospel coming to Ireland. It became more about “green” than “grace.” It is this cultural celebration that is now celebrated world-wide.
I noted last month that over $27 billion was spent on Valentine’s Day in 2025, and the average American spends close to $200 on Valentine gifts and outings. St. Patrick’s Day is a little more modest at $7 billion, or $44 per person on food, beverages, green apparel and decorations.
Another quirk: for centuries, St. Patrick’s color was blue not green. Medieval images of Patrick show him in blue robes, and the Order of St. Patrick has “St. Patrick Blue” as its official color. (Blue represents heaven, holiness, royal authority and Ireland as a kingdom under God. So, why did green take over?
Ireland’s lush landscape has led to its nickname of “the Emerald Isle.” So, the green landscape became synonymous with the country. The shamrock, associated with St. Patrick, is also green. Green became the color of Irish nationalism in 18th and 19th Centuries. And, when Irish immigrants moved to America, the green followed them. The irony in all of this is that St. Patrick probably never wore green or blue.
On a side note, my family (which has Irish roots on my paternal grandmother’s side) always told me that the Catholics wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, but we Lutherans are to wear orange. This goes back to politics. Green became associate with Irish Catholics in the 18th and 19th Centuries as noted above. Protestants (not specifically Lutherans) lean toward orange in honor of William of Orange, a Protestant king who defeated the Catholic King James II in 1690. So, his supporters in Ireland wore orange to show solidarity with Protestants and those loyal to Britain. Therefore, orange symbolizes Protestant political identity, especially in Northern Ireland. In the end, orange is not specifically a Lutheran color. In Christian freedom, wear what you want.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch ~
St. Patrick's Day
Continuing our series on special days within the year, their background and their Christian significance, this month our attention turns to St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Much like Valentine’s Day, there is the historical background, the legends around the person, and what it has become today. Historically, St. Patrick’s Day is not about corned beef and cabbage or green beer. It’s about a Christian man who served God by sharing the gospel with his former captors.
Like St. Valentine, it takes some effort to sort out the fact from the fiction, especially since he lived over 1500 years ago. The good news is that we have two surviving documents attributed to him: The Confession of St. Patrick (his spiritual biography) and Letter to Coroticus (condemning the enslavement of Christians).
Patrick was not his birth name; near as we can tell, it was Maewyn Succat. He was born in the late 4th Century, either 373 or 390 A.D., in England to a Roman-British army officer and church deacon. According to The Confession, he was not very religious as a child and he presents himself as uneducated, sinful and quite worldly. But, at age 16, he was captured by Irish pirates who took him back to Ireland and made him a slave.
For the next six years, he worked as a herdsman tending to sheep and pigs. This enslavement drove him to God. He was deeply repentant and was constantly in prayer. Through his suffering, God awakened his faith.
According to Patrick, he heard a voice tell him to go home and that a ship was waiting for him. He fled 200 miles to a port where he would convince the captain to take him along. However, the ship landed in France, not Britain, and they wandered around for 28 days and became faint with hunger. Patrick prayed for food and they encountered a herd of wild pigs, ate them, and Patrick encouraged them to put their trust in the Lord.
Eventually, he returned to England. There, he again heard a voice, the voice of the Irish calling him back to Ireland to teach them about God. He didn’t feel qualified, so he entered a monastery in France, became a priest and later a bishop (and gained the name Patrick, or “nobleman”) before returning to Ireland twelve years later.
Although Patrick was not the first to bring Christianity to Ireland, he did spend twenty years preaching the gospel throughout the country. Things didn’t always go smoothly. Local chiefs and druids fought with him and sometimes imprisoned him, but he was always released and writes about baptizing thousands of people. He wrote, “Never before did they know of God except to serve idols and unclean things. But now, they have become the people of the Lord, and are called children of God.” He established several churches and monastic communities. It is widely accepted that he died on March 17, probably around 461 A.D.
Now for the legends:
“St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland.” Not true. Ireland didn’t have snakes after the Ice Age. More likely, “snakes” are a metaphor for pagans and pagan beliefs. Driving them out of Ireland would be symbolic for the religious change happening in the country.
“St. Patrick used a shamrock to teach the Trinity.” While it is possible, there is no historical record of him doing this. It is an effective visual, which is probably why the story stuck, but there is no proof that he did this.
“Patrick single-handedly converted all of Ireland.” Obviously, this is an overreach. Patrick himself never made such a claim. While he played a significant role in the spread of Christianity there, obviously others helped and built upon his work. In fact, in Patrick’s Confession, he is very humble and gives all glory to God. God called him; God guided him; God protected him. Any success is credited entirely to God, not his own skill. He closes his confession with worship not self-justification, grace not self-righteousness.
With such a spiritual foundation, how did St. Patrick’s Day become what it is today? Historically, St. Patrick’s Day was a solemn, holy day in Ireland, so much so that pubs were closed. As Irish immigrants moved to America, St. Patrick’s Day became as much of a celebration of Irish culture as it was the gospel coming to Ireland. It became more about “green” than “grace.” It is this cultural celebration that is now celebrated world-wide.
I noted last month that over $27 billion was spent on Valentine’s Day in 2025, and the average American spends close to $200 on Valentine gifts and outings. St. Patrick’s Day is a little more modest at $7 billion, or $44 per person on food, beverages, green apparel and decorations.
Another quirk: for centuries, St. Patrick’s color was blue not green. Medieval images of Patrick show him in blue robes, and the Order of St. Patrick has “St. Patrick Blue” as its official color. (Blue represents heaven, holiness, royal authority and Ireland as a kingdom under God. So, why did green take over?
Ireland’s lush landscape has led to its nickname of “the Emerald Isle.” So, the green landscape became synonymous with the country. The shamrock, associated with St. Patrick, is also green. Green became the color of Irish nationalism in 18th and 19th Centuries. And, when Irish immigrants moved to America, the green followed them. The irony in all of this is that St. Patrick probably never wore green or blue.
On a side note, my family (which has Irish roots on my paternal grandmother’s side) always told me that the Catholics wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, but we Lutherans are to wear orange. This goes back to politics. Green became associate with Irish Catholics in the 18th and 19th Centuries as noted above. Protestants (not specifically Lutherans) lean toward orange in honor of William of Orange, a Protestant king who defeated the Catholic King James II in 1690. So, his supporters in Ireland wore orange to show solidarity with Protestants and those loyal to Britain. Therefore, orange symbolizes Protestant political identity, especially in Northern Ireland. In the end, orange is not specifically a Lutheran color. In Christian freedom, wear what you want.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch ~