|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Touring Saint Patrick's Homeland
| Article
# : |
10802 |
|
|
Section : |
LIFE
|
| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1993 |
2,812 Words |
| Author
: |
M. Melissa Mccormick
M. Melissa McCormick is currently writing an anthropological
study of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. |
Northern Ireland Is More Than The Home Of The "Troubles." Saint Patrick Lived There, And The Places He Once Occupied Serve The Cause Of Peace.
On March 17, Saint Patrick's Day, instead of reveling with 350,000 parade spectators in Dublin like so many tourists, I would recommend that you savor Saint Patrick's Sweet Hill (County Armagh). Although it is not commonly known in the United States, a pilgrimage to the ancient places associated with Ireland's national apostle leads the traveler to counties squarely in the United Kingdom's province of Northern Ireland. About fifteen hundred years ago, in what is now the southeastern corner of Northern Ireland, Saint Patrick preached his first Irish sermon, established the island's preeminent church city, and was buried. Here are splendid sites you can safely tour.
Today, in this magnificent but troubled land, the observance of the anniversary of Saint Patrick's death has a special function for those who stand up to religious as well as political intolerance and extremism. Peacemakers from all walks of life entreat antagonists to recognize Saint Patrick's gift of Christianity as a common benediction to both Catholics and Protestants. Saint Patrick's Day signifies for such activists the profound kinship of all the people of Northern Ireland and, therefore, is a compelling basis for mutual understanding and respect.
SAINT PATRICK
The tale of the prolific saint, who made the meadow shamrock a sacred symbol of the Trinity, begins on the island to the east. Born in north Britain (possibly Scotland), Saint Patrick was the son of a Romano-British official, a citizen of Rome. When he was an adolescent, Celtic pirates kidnapped him and sold him into slavery on the "Virgin Shore." For six long years, he toiled as a swineherd on an extinct volcanic hill known as Slemish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, until he was able to flee to Gaul.
In A.D. 432, Pope Celestine sent Patrick back to the Emerald Isle to build on the work of Palladius, the first missionary to Ireland, who had gone there the year before. In his no-holds-barred Confessio, Saint Patrick wrote that he "came to the Irish heathens to preach the Good News and to put up with insults from unbelievers," Celtic texts tell us of his celebrated triumphs. Over a period of roughly thirty years, he commissioned seven hundred churches and ordained seven hundred bishops and three thousand priests.
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
