Ireland's Saint: The Essential Biography of St. Patrick

Discover how a boy became devoted to the people who enslaved him, returned to their shores, and changed Ireland forever...

He was taken from his home in England and dragged across the sea to Ireland. When he escaped, he traveled on the European continent, lived for a while as a monk, and then returned as a missionary to the people who had enslaved him.

Many legends surround the life of St. Patrick. He competed with Druids and negotiated with tribal leaders. He traveled all over the emerald isle bringing both Christianity and the Roman Empire to its shores. J. B. Bury, the first modern biographer of St. Patrick, sought to find the man beneath the layers of myth and legend. Explore Patrick’s place in history, the influence of earlier Christians on Patrick’s work, the political and social conditions in the Roman Empire at that time, and much more.

This new edition of Bury’s classic biography has been re-edited, introduced by Jon M. Sweeney, and includes sidebar notes from other biographers, mystics, historians, and storytellers of Ireland.

Praise for Jon M. Sweeney’s biography of St. Francis of Assisi:

“There is no sounder introduction to Francis’ life.” – Catholic News Service

“This new and updated edition…is nothing short of astonishing in its power to touch the heart and revive the soul.” –St. Anthony Messenger

“Sweeney achieves a fine balance between excellent scholarship and sweet accessibility for every average reader.” –Walter Wangerin, Jr.

J. B. Bury (1861-1927) was an Irish historian, an expert on the Greek and Roman Empires, and the prestigious Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University.

Jon M. Sweeney is an independent scholar and award-winning author. His books have been translated into many languages. He's a popular interpreter of the life and work of Francis of Assisi, and author of more than 40 books including St. Francis of Assisi with a foreword by Richard Rohr, and The Complete Francis of Assisi used by Third Order Franciscans. HBO optioned the film rights to Sweeney's book on the medieval Pope Celestine V, The Pope Who Quit.

In 2023, Jon published Sit in the Sun: And Other Lessons in the Spiritual Wisdom of Cats, and Meister Eckhart's Book of Darkness and Light, coauthored with Mark S. Burrows. Jon has been interviewed on CBS News, WGN-TV, Fox News, and CBS Saturday Morning, and by publications online from CNN to Romper. He's a practicing Catholic who also prays regularly with his wife, a congregational rabbi. He loves the church, the synagogue, and other aspects of organized religion. He would never say he's "spiritual but not religious." He is the father of four and lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sweeney is codirector of The Lux Center for Catholic-Jewish Studies at Sacred Heart Seminary; religion editor at Monkfish Book Publishing; editor of Living City magazine; and contributing editor for books at SpiritualityandPractice.com.