St. Patrick, the Shamrock Saint
St. Patrick was a brave bishop who brought the Good News of Jesus to Ireland, a green land of hills and sheep. He used a little shamrock to teach about God!
St. Patrick
The Shamrock Saint
Christ Be with Me!
Meet St. Patrick!
St. Patrick was a brave bishop who brought the Good News of Jesus to Ireland, a green land of hills and sheep. He used a little shamrock to teach about God!
The patron saint of Ireland
Follow St. Patrick!
Let's follow Patrick across the sea and all over Ireland!
Story 1
A Boy by the Sea
Britain, about 400
Long ago, in Britain, lived a boy named Patrick. His grandpa was a priest, and his family loved God. But Patrick liked playing much more than praying!
He ran on the beach, played ball with his friends and splashed in the waves. Patrick didn't know yet what a big adventure God had planned for him!
Let us pray
Dear God, thank You for my family and for all my fun.
Story 2
The Shepherd Boy
Across the sea to Ireland
When Patrick was sixteen, some rough sailors took him away on their ship, all the way across the sea to Ireland. He was far from home, and he missed his family very much.
In Ireland, Patrick had to look after sheep on a lonely hill, in the wind and the rain. So Patrick began to pray, as many as a hundred times a day!
He prayed in the morning and he prayed at night, even in the snow. Patrick learned that God was always with him, and his heart felt warm.
Let us pray
Thank You, God, for always being with me.
Story 3
Your Ship Is Ready!
Ireland
After six long years, Patrick heard a voice in a dream: “Your ship is ready!” In the morning, he set off for the sea.
Patrick walked and walked, about 200 miles, all the way across Ireland! At the seashore, there was a ship, just as God had promised.
The sailors let Patrick come aboard, and he sailed home at last. Patrick knew God had taken care of him the whole way.
Let us pray
Jesus, help me to trust You, even when the road is long.
Story 4
Come Back to Us!
Britain
Patrick's family was SO happy to see him! They hugged and hugged. Patrick was home, safe and sound.
But one night, Patrick dreamed of the people of Ireland calling to him: “Please come back, Patrick! Walk with us again!”
Patrick studied hard and became a priest, and then a bishop. Then he sailed back to Ireland, this time to tell everyone about Jesus!
Let us pray
Jesus, give me a heart that loves everyone, even people far away.
Story 5
The Easter Fire
The Hill of Slane, Ireland, about 433
On the night before Easter, Patrick lit a big, bright fire on a hill. It showed that Jesus is the Light of the World!
But the High King had said no one could light a fire before his own! From the Hill of Tara, the king saw Patrick's fire. “Who lit that fire before mine?”
The king sent for Patrick. Patrick was brave. He told the king all about Jesus, and the king let Patrick share the Good News everywhere in Ireland!
Let us pray
Jesus, You are the Light of the World. Shine in my heart!
Story 6
The Little Shamrock
Ireland
Patrick taught the people about the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. “How can God be three?” they asked.
Patrick picked a little shamrock. “Look! Three leaves, but just one shamrock. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three Persons, but one God!”
The people understood, and many asked to be baptized! Patrick baptized them with water from the rivers and wells of Ireland.
Let us pray
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!
Story 7
Green Everywhere!
Ireland, and all around the world
Patrick traveled all over Ireland for many years, ringing his little bell and building churches. When he was very old, God called him home to Heaven.
Today, on St. Patrick's Day, people all over the world wear green, wave flags and march in happy parades!
A funny old story says Patrick sent all the snakes away from Ireland! Really, there were never any snakes there at all. But it's fun to imagine!
Let us pray
St. Patrick, help me to tell everyone about Jesus!
Pray with St. Patrick
From his famous prayer, the “Breastplate”
Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Amen.
A little prayer for little ones
Patrick, Patrick, brave and true, a little shamrock helped you through. Help me pray and help me tell that Jesus loves us all so well! Amen.
Can You Find Them?
10 shamrocks
3 sheep
1 dog
1 bell
1 fire
1 flag
1 ship
Be Like St. Patrick!
Color in a shamrock each time you do it!
I can pray in the morning and at night.
I can be brave and try new things.
I can tell a friend about Jesus.
I can trust God when I miss someone.
I can pray the Glory Be!
St. Patrick's Special Day
March 17
Every year on March 17, the Church celebrates St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Here are some fun ways to celebrate!
Find a shamrock
Wear something green
Sing and march!
Pray the Glory Be
Color St. Patrick!
Christ be with you!
You can be brave like Patrick!
St. Patrick prayed when he was lonely, and he was brave when God called him. When you pray and share God's love, you are a lot like him. St. Patrick is cheering you on!
Dear Jesus, thank You for St. Patrick. Help me to be brave and to share Your love. Amen.
For Grown-Ups
Where these stories come from: St. Patrick's own Confession, his early biographers, and centuries of Irish tradition, retold here simply and gently for young children.
A Boy by the Sea. Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the late 4th century, at a place he calls Bannavem Taburniae. His father, Calpurnius, was a deacon and his grandfather, Potitus, a priest. In his Confession he says that as a boy he did not know the true God.
The Shepherd Boy. At sixteen he was taken by Irish raiders and spent six years in Ireland as a herdsman (tradition names Slemish, in County Antrim). He writes that he prayed up to a hundred times a day and as many at night, in snow, frost and rain. We have kept the telling gentle for young readers.
Your Ship Is Ready! A voice in his sleep told him, “Your ship is ready.” He walked about two hundred miles to the coast, found a ship and, after some difficulty, was taken aboard and returned home.
Come Back to Us! Back in Britain, he dreamed of a man bringing letters headed “The Voice of the Irish,” and heard them cry, “We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more.” He studied, was ordained, and returned as a bishop, traditionally in 432.
The Easter Fire. Muirchú's 7th-century Life tells how Patrick lit the Paschal fire on the Hill of Slane before King Lóegaire had lit the royal fire at Tara, and was then allowed to preach.
The Little Shamrock. The tradition that he used the shamrock to explain the Trinity is first written down in the early 1700s, and it gave Ireland its national symbol.
Green Everywhere! Patrick died on March 17, traditionally around 461, and is said to be buried at Downpatrick. He wrote the Confession and a Letter to Coroticus; the prayer called his “Breastplate” is traditionally attributed to him (the verse here is from Cecil Frances Alexander's 1889 hymn version). The snakes are a legend: Ireland has had no native snakes since the Ice Age.
St. Patrick, pray for us!
The end
You finished St. Patrick, the Shamrock Saint. Keep it to read again: download the book to print or read offline.