The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-18
ST. PATRICK HONORED BY.
 ADMIRERS IN MONT TGOMERY


 any doubt. He was born when the Romans dominated England. His fa- ther was an official living in the south of England The name Patricius was given the future Saint. to signify that he had the rank of a gentleman. The place of his birth was near the river Severn at Roman town called Bon nayenta, the exact site of which Is not known at this date.
 The real name of the youth was Suc- | cat, Celtic word. The boy was raised a Christian, for Rome which dominated 1 the world then had emerged from pa- | ganism into Christianity. It was in- i tended that he should be gentleman farmer, but when he was a youth, a band of Irish pirates swooped down on the English Roman town and carried the youth into slavery. with number ofshis fathers servants. For six years he was kept a slave and put to work herding pigs
 According to his own account. when he had been six years slave, he was led to escape to freedom by a mysteri- ous voice in the night He travelled 1Se miles to the coast. where he boarded vessel which took him to the French coast. From here he wandered into Italy, but came back to France, where he entered a famous monastery, on an island off the coast of Provence. f1e lntenueQ, to llN6a5 the IIe or | a monk, but in the night he heard the voice of the enildren of Ireland carrying out.
 We pray thee, holy youth. to come and walk among us as before" He then went into preparation for his great work in Ireland. studying at Auxterre in France He was at length appointed q bishop of Pope Constantine I. to take charge of the growing work of the church among the Christians in Ireland. He was conseerated Bishop of Ireland and entered upon his work in 1432 Ireland then was under the domination of the Druids. although there were some Christians on the is land
 Made Ireland Part of Christendom.
 The consecrated efforts of the new Bishop met with immediate and strik- ing success. Loigare, King of Ireland, continued for a long while to cling to his ancestral belief. but he encourag- ed the work of Patrick in many ways. "The Saint lived thirty-one years In Ireland and founded many churches. He made the nation Christian as n whole and brought it into connection with the Roman Empire, making 1t part of Christendom and of the civiliz- ed world.
 Late in life he wrote "Patrick's Con- fession." an account of his work ana
  through his great undertaking, 1t is written in scholarly Latin and reflects the conservation and learning of the author.
 His next best writing Is his Letter Against Coroticus." Coroticus was Il Roman chief in command of fort in Scotland, whose soldiers on raid 1 crossed over to Ireland and murdered some of the Christmas while they wer engaged in worship The Saints letter denounced that outrage.
 According to the best authorities. Patrick died at an age between seventy and seventy-four years. He died at a place called Saul, a town which grew up around the spot on which he DuIIr his first church in Ireland. Tne date I of his death is fixed at 461. History l says that his death occurred on March l IT. and that day has been set apart for. the annual commemoration of bis useful life.
 Two rival Irish kingdoms, Ulidia and Crior fought for the possession of his body He was, however. buried in an unmarked grave and in modern times the place where his mortal remains | rest is not known.
 1 Patrick an Honor T0 Catholicism. The Panegyric on St. Patrick was de- | livered by Father McNamara, at St. Peters Catholic Church yesterday l morning.
 Father McNamara began by saying | that as Moses led Gods chosen people l out of the darkness. the apostle of Ire | land led the Irish into the Light of | Faith. He gave a brief history of St 1 Patrick's life from the time when he was captured by an Ulster chieftafn and made to tend his flocks, until his l death. He told of St Patricks unflag- | ging zeal in his task of converting tho pagan Irish, zeal which no hardship or disappointment could cool He de- l clared the British. by persecution and even by trying, to exterminate them, could not overcome the faith of the just. They tried by persuasion to ac- complish that which was Impossible by force. but they were doomed to disap- pointment.
 All the people who were gathered to- gether in the congregation, he said, were either Catholics or Irish and low ed the country which was called the l Isle of saints, and had heard the tales of it's wrong and sufferings. And as long as Britain held to the course TOT l oppression that they would agitatei as far as they could the political campaign 4 to obtain their rights, He declared, I however. that a bright future was dawning for. the country which they all loved. <
 The celebration of St. Patrieks day ho said. was first of all Holy Day and and afterwards a holiday, If 1t had ] not been that the church had furnish ed the inspiration to St Patrick to commence his task, there would have been no possibility that it would have been dono. It was necessary for one to be a good Catholic for one to be food Irishman, and just as the wear