Today is St. Patrick's Day. I'm watching the sun peek out this morning (finally), the grass beginning to turn green... (a little, at least there's no snow)... and while putting on my green earrings and Celtic amulet I decided to thumb through "Saints Preserve Us" by Sean Kelly and Rosemary Rodgers to refresh my knowledge about Saint Patrick. What I found out may surprise you...
The following reference was taken directly from book (which I would definitely recommend, by the way)
enjoy your day!
~ diane
"Partick- March 17
Patron of Ireland and Nigeria; Invoked Against the Snakes
Patrick wasn't Irish; he was Welsh-Italian. His name wasn't Patrick, it was Succat. He wasn't the first Christian missionary sent to Ireland-that was Saint Palladius. And there were never any snakes in the country to begin with. But aside from that, everything you know about Patrick is true. He was declared by the Sacred Congregation of Rites to be the Patron of Nigeria in April 1961."