Most missionaries don’t get parades in their honour. They don’t inspire annual celebrations across the globe, dyed rivers, or landmarks lit green – except Patrick.
The beloved saint of the Irish, who wasn’t even Irish himself, has got to be one of the most popular missionaries ever.
There are many reasons for this, but most of them came long after Patrick’s own life.
If you read his autobiographical Confession – which is well worth your time – you’ll discover that he first arrived in Ireland as a slave, then came back willingly as a missionary, knowing full well that he would face powerful opposition, grave danger, and persecution in the land of his captors. He was right.
St. Patrick's Day
Today, the island of his slavery and labours in the gospel celebrates Patrick with vigour every 17 March. There’s no denying it: Patrick changed this place. More precisely, Patrick’s message changed this place. It was the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ that radically transformed Irish society at the time. Then it radiated out to Scotland, England, and the rest of Europe.
When the modern Republic of Ireland raises a glass to her patron Saint in 2026, over 1,500 years after he arrived, it will not do so thinking of the good news he gave his life to bring here. Though the landscape is dotted with the ruins of an ancient Christian history, the light of the gospel is not shining very brightly on most of the Emerald Isle.
Over the centuries, Patrick’s message was dimmed by the steadily encroaching fingers of cold traditionalism, which hollowed Christianity of its radical message of repentance, faith, complete forgiveness, and heart-changing power. What was left was mostly a shell of external rituals, good works, and beautiful architecture.
'Secular materialism'
Today, Irish society is moving away even from these remnants, abandoning its once-stalwart Catholicism in favour of secular materialism and the shifting morals of modern Europe.
There is still a haunting sense of spirituality in the air, but spiritual realities have now been privatised – if it makes you happy and comforts you, it’s okay, whether it’s the occult or the Our Father.
Previous generations of evangelicals in Ireland often met open, official hostility to the gospel message. Our generation mostly meets indifference and apathy. Many things have changed, but the need has not.
"Many things have changed, but the need has not."
Ireland's evangelicals
The Republic of Ireland currently has the lowest percentage of evangelicals of any English-speaking country, with estimates between 0.5-1%.
Hundreds of towns, villages, and population centres still have no local church that faithfully proclaims the gospel, and the churches that do exist are mostly small, and often isolated. Yet there is progress. The majority of evangelical churches in the Republic of Ireland were planted in the last 30 years, and the pace seems to gradually be picking up.
Many churches and ministries have noticed a growing openness among the people they reach out to.
There are more visitors showing up in services, and there are people being genuinely saved and transformed by the power of the gospel.
Still, the work remains slow, and small.
While Ireland continues to celebrate her patron saint, most of her people have yet to hear, understand, and respond to the wonderful message of salvation that he brought to these shores so long ago. The need is great, but the gospel has the power to transform this island all over again. What Ireland needs is a new generation of Patricks, willing to give their lives for the sake of the gospel – even if no one organises a parade in their honour.
Why I believe God does give us more than we can handle
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