Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland and the Irish’s quintessential holiday. What could be more Irish? The only thing is, he wasn’t Irish. Nor did he first come to Ireland as a bishop, loved by its people, but rather as a kidnapped slave. This presentation by Fr Patrick Edwards (no relation) will reverently, but unreservedly, address the legends and history of this venerated saint and searches for myths as well as truth and meaning in them. We’ll see how an escaped slave, with a divine calling, returned to his captors, and through entrepreneurial innovation and adaptation, managed to convert a country in a single generation and leave a legacy that continues to unite the Irish and enable them to endure as a people despite hardships, war, and diaspora.
