This year of 2024, the Fifth Sunday of Lent coincides with St. Patrick’s Day, the feast of the patron saint of Ireland.
And while many people are taking the opportunity to revel in all things Irish, a priest told Fox News Digital that the story of St. Patrick is a timely reminder of the power of God’s forgiveness.
St. Patrick is subject to “a good deal of folklore” and misconceptions that are not entirely factual, Fr. Timothy Harris, T.O.R., told Fox News Digital. Harris is pastor at St. John Vianney Parish in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and is a chaplain for the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic men’s fraternal organization.
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St. Patrick himself was not Irish — he was likely born in Wales or Scotland, but his birthplace is uncertain.
“Either way, it is clear that it was not Ireland,” said Harris.
Fr. Timothy Harris, T.O.R., at right, is a Catholic priest based in Pennsylvania. He is also a chaplain with the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization. (iStock/Courtesy of Fr. Timothy Harris, T.O.R.)
St. Patrick came to Ireland after he was kidnapped at the age of 16 and sold into slavery.
He was a slave, working as a shepherd, until he was age 22, said Harris, “when God led him to return to his home and family.”
There’s also no evidence that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, said Harris, but it is a “wonderful tradition.”
St. Patrick is “an excellent example of God’s mercy and…