Asking the clergy about St. Patrick

There are parades, beers, breads and boiled meat in his honor. But, for many, these traditions, usually clothed in some shade of green, are much of what is known about St. Patrick. Our clergy help clarify who he was and why he attained sainthood.

The Rev. William D. Mahoney, priest-in-charge, Saint Patrick's Episcopal Church, Deer Park:

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. It is popularly -- and mistakenly -- thought that he is Irish. He actually is a Roman Briton. I was stationed in England in a parish in the Diocese of Carlisle. There is a village called Ravenglass where he is believed to have lived.

He was captured from his village by raiders from Ireland and taken back to Ireland. He escaped and returned to Britain and became a priest.

Of his own volition, he returned to Ireland to bring Christianity to them. He used the shamrock as an example of The Trinity -- the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Patrick (387-465 A.D.) and his followers brought Christianity to this rural, mountainous pagan area.

Legend says he chased snakes out of Ireland. In truth, we don't know that much about him. He is known to have described himself as a humble-minded man. And, we know he is a man who was willing to return to a captor country in a loving sense.

Father David Regan, associate priest, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Smithtown:

Oscar Wilde once said that "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."

As we hear those words, we are invited to look deeply at ourselves and realize that we are never defined by failings or hurts, but rather by God's love for us. This is made visible in the person of St. Patrick. He grew up in a troubled way, including slavery and being a stranger in a strange land.

At no moment did St. Patrick use his pain and hurt to hold him back. Instead, he entered more deeply into the mystery of what being a Christian meant. In doing so, he found not only a merciful savior, but found himself. For him, this meant going back as a bishop to Ireland, the place where he was enslaved.

He is not only the patron Saint of Ireland, but a visible example of what we so desperately need today, a witness that, through God, our prayers, faith, charity and love do triumph.

One of the important things that St. Patrick teaches can be learned from a prayer that he would say: Jesus is in front of me, Jesus is behind me, Jesus is all around me.

He understood that God was not only in life's mysteries, but, above all, He has the answer to all that we need. We never want to minimize human hurt or pain, but we can put emphasis on the fact that there is someone always with us.

Msgr. John Bennett, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, Huntington:

St. Patrick was the great evangelizer, converting the pagan Irish to Christianity. Think about it. Our modern churches have social media -- computers, Facebook, Twitter, blogs -- to convert people. He brought the Gospel to people through difficult circumstances.

Through immigration before and during the potato famine (1845-49, when an estimated 1 million died and another 1 million immigrated to the United States) and after, Irish immigrants brought their faith and love of St. Patrick with them. I walked in the 78th annual St. Patrick's Parade in Huntington.

But, parades aren't his greatest gift. His greatest gift is as an evangelizer. Yes, there were others who evangelized in Ireland, but none to the extent that he did, who reached the number of people that he reached. And those same people brought their faith to the United States.

The Rev. Peter J. Garry, St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Southold:

There are five churches in the Diocese of Rockville Centre named St. Patrick -- Huntington, Smithtown, Southold, Bay Shore and Glen Cove. So, what does that tell you about how important he is today? St. Patrick here in Southold was founded in 1864.

It is understandable, that with so many immigrants from Ireland during the famine and after, that they would connect with St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It was their faith that helped them survive the difficult times that they were experiencing. They gained strength to survive their trials through all he endured to lead others to God.

The Catholic tradition of bestowing sainthood is that the people who are made saints seemed to have behaved extraordinarily in how they lived their faith. An obvious modern example is Mother Teresa, who was beatified in 2003 as part of her sainthood process. She traveled all over the world to help the poorest of the poor.

The very long process of sainthood includes proof of miracles done in the saint's name. Someone is inspired to pray to this person to intercede on his or her behalf before the Father or the Son. As part of the process, there must be at least one verified miracle after death, then at least one verified miracle after beatification.

When we here on earth pray to a saint, we're asking that saint to intercede on our behalf to the Father and the Son.