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Is it possible that St. Patrick wasn't Catholic? Some Protestants say so.
St. Patrick was born in 385 into a high-ranking Roman Christian family in western Britain; he died in Ireland in 461, though some accounts put his death later. His grandfather was a priest, and his father, a deacon, was a prosperous nobleman and a local Roman official. The family’s native language was Latin.
Patrick writes that as youths he and his companions “turned away from God, did not keep his commandments, and did not obey our priests, who used to remind us of our salvation” (Conf. 1). His youth ended abruptly when, at age sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery, being assigned to work as a shepherd. This revolutionized his life. His faith and zeal for God were ignited, and he spent much time praying and fasting.
After six years, he escaped, led by private revelations along a safe route back to Britain. In another revelation, he was commissioned to serve as a missionary to Ireland. To prepare, he traveled to France and spent two decades as a monk—studying, praying, and practicing penance.
He was ordained to the priesthood and in 432 was sent to Ireland to serve Palladius, who had been consecrated bishop by Pope Celestine. When Palladius died on a trip to Britain, Patrick was chosen as his successor and was consecrated bishop by Germanus, the papal representative overseeing the Irish mission.
Patrick experienced enormous success in converting the Irish, and three assistant bishops from France were sent to help him, among them Sechnall (AKA Secundinus). Within his generation, the Irish had been transformed by God’s grace into a Christian (and Catholic) people. In 441, Patrick went to Rome to seek approval of his ministry in Ireland, and the newly elected Pope Leo the Great confirmed Patrick’s full adherence to the Catholic faith.
This is significant, since today, some assert that Patrick was not even Catholic! The challenge is made mainly by Irish Americans who were brought up Protestant or who have abandoned the Church for Protestantism and wish to co-opt Patrick and represent him as a non-Catholic figure.
Continued below.
St. Patrick Was Not a Protestant
Some Protestants like to assert that St. Patrick wasn't Catholic, but in light of Patrick's life, that's an extremely hard claim to back up.
