Everyone is Irish on March 17th when people around the world celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. But how much do you know about the man for whom the holiday is named? Impress family and friends with these facts about St. Patrick.
1. St. Patrick’s given name at birth was Maewyn Succat.
2. The saying may be “Kiss me, I’m Irish,” but St. Patrick was born in Wales or Scotland There’s some dispute, but wherever it was, it was not Ireland. His parents were Romans living in Britain.
3. Patrick (actually, at this point he was still Maewyn) first went to the Emerald Isle when he was enslaved by mauraders who raided his family’s estate. He was captured at age 15 and was a slave in Ireland for six years, according to Discovery. He was eventually freed and returned to Wales, where became a priest and later returned to Ireland.
4. When he became a priest, he changed his name to Patricius, from the Latin term meaning “father figure,” according to The Huffington Post. He eventually became a bishop.
5. Legend says that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. But that’s not really true. Biography.com says there were actually no snakes in Ireland at that time and the snake reference is just a metaphorical way of depicting how St. Patrick drove evil and paganism out of Ireland.
6. Although many people believe March 17 is St. Patrick’s birthday, it’s actually the 
anniversary of his death. He passed away on March 17, 461 A.D. (Give or take, it’s not like the record keeping was easy back then.) It is also his feast day in the Catholic church. The many people he converted to Christianity mourned his death on that day and, like so many things with the Irish, that became a celebration and it stuck.
7. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, but he’s not the only one. Saints Columba and Brigit are also patron saints of the Emerald Isle. They are all said to be buried at Down Cathedral, but that is not proven.
8. St. Patrick was never actually canonized by a Pope. They didn’t sweat the details back then and sainthoods were handled at a regional level. He is official, though, as he is included in the List of Saints.
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