St. Patrick

St. Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British bishop credited with converting Ireland to Christianity. Though little is known with certainty about his life, over the centuries many legends have been told of his exploits, including that he banished snakes from Ireland and that he used a three-leaf shamrock to teach the doctrine of the Trinity. Today, he is one of the Church’s most beloved saints, especially among those of Irish descent.

In George and Polly’s original depiction, the saintly bishop rings the Bell of St. Patrick, a relic believed to have belonged to him, in a gesture that evokes the call to conversion. His vestments are decorated with Celtic knots and the cross pattée (an episcopal symbol commonly associated with him in art), while a stylized shamrock adorns the crook of his crozier. The Old Gaelic text in the halo is taken from the opening line of the “Faeth Fiada,” an ancient prayer attributed to his authorship.