I’m celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day in Rome, around a bunch of Italian university students who don’t need much excuse to party. While they celebrate Irish culture, I join in because Patricks stands as one of the best examples of a missionary in history. Here’s a passage telling more of Patrick’s story from GO: Following Jesus to the Ends of the Earth:

About 400 years later, on an island far to the north, Irish raiders kidnapped a young English boy named Patricius and held him as a slave for several years. While he eventually made his escape and returned to England, something started to shift in his heart. The Lord, through visions, began to pull him once again to Ireland, this time to return as a missionary to his former captors. He sailed back to preach the gospel to the pagan Irish and eventually became Saint Patrick of Ireland, the first documented missionary outside the bounds of the Roman Empire. Patrick preached the gospel as far as he could go, “to the point beyond which there is no one,” to the western edge of Ireland. Only the sea remained.

As you lift a toast to all things Irish today, join me in lifting one to Saint Patrick himself, a compelling missionary example for all who follow of Jesus.

Photo by Ann