When St Patrick was 16, he was captured by Irish pirates from his family home in Roman Britain and taken to Ireland, where he was sold into slavery and forced to work as a herdsman for about six years.

Quick Scoop: What happened at 16?

  • Patrick was living in Roman Britain in a Christian family of some local standing.
  • Around age 16, Irish raiders attacked the area and seized him, along with other people and property.
  • He was taken across the sea to Ireland and sold as a slave to a local chieftain.
  • His main job there was tending animals (often described as sheep or other livestock) in remote, rough countryside.
  • During these lonely years, he later wrote that his Christian faith deepened and he spent a lot of time in prayer.
  • After about six years in captivity, he escaped and eventually made his way back to his family in Britain.

A bit of story flavor

In his own short autobiography, Patrick says that before his capture he was not very serious about religion, but the hardship of slavery pushed him to rely on God constantly, praying many times a day and night.

Later, he believed that this time in Ireland was preparing him for his future mission, because after returning home and training as a cleric, he went back to Ireland as a missionary and became the island’s most famous Christian figure.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.