St Patrick helped bring the Eucharist to Ireland

What would Saint Patrick make of St Patrick’s Day in Ireland in 2026?  One thing is sure – faith in the living Christ is his message to us today. Although we do not find explicit references to the Eucharist in the two writings associated with his name – the Confessio and the Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus – we can be sure that Patrick brought with him the Christian faith and the associated practices, understanding and established norms of the land from which he came. 

By the 5^th century AD there was a well-ordered threefold ministry of bishops, priests and deacons.  The celebration of the sacraments of baptism and the Eucharist were the cornerstone of Christian life.  The churches spread across the world at that time share a common belief as summed up in the Creeds.  They also shared a belief in the true Body and Blood of Christ as very early Church fathers testify.  For them, celebration of the Eucharist was a central part of Christian worship and a culmination of initiation following baptism.

I see no reason to doubt that in bringing Christ to Ireland, Patrick and those who came after him (some would claim before him) brought the Eucharist to the pagan Irish.  The Sacrifice of the Holy Mass replaced human sacrifice as practiced in Ireland and across Europe as we know, inter alia, from the evidence of bodies dug up in various bogs.  At a very early stage, the importance of the Eucharist as a sign of, and means to, unity was grasped. To be cut off  from Christ is to be cut off from the Eucharist.

In the Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus (ascribed to Patrick), the writer does not pull his punches:

So where will Coroticus and his villainous rebels against Christ find themselves – those who divide out defenceless baptised women as prizes, all for the sake of a miserable temporal kingdom, which will pass away in a moment of time. Just as cloud of smoke is blown away by the wind, that is how deceitful sinners will perish from the face of the Lord. The just, however, will banquet in great constancy with Christ. They will judge nations, and will rule over evil kings for all ages. Amen.

Somehow I sense that the above has particular and awful relevance in today’s world. But, what Irish man or woman will call this out and face the consequences?  Then, would our sacrifices be one in the sacrifice of the Eucharist so beloved by Patrick and his followers among the Gaeil.