But how many of you knew that Saint Patrick, aka Patricius Magonus Sucatus,
aka Maewyn Succat, was the son of parents of Roman citizenship, who were 
living in Great Britain at the time, making him a Roman citizen!!!

Although Patricius supposed wrote an extensive autobiographical book called 
"Confessio", historians cannot agree whether he was born in 385 AD or 387 AD,
and in Wales or Scotland.

Most people don't realize that St. Patrick was absolutely NOT Irish, but 
either Welch 
(careful not to say English) or Scottish, BUT of Roman/Italian ancestry!!!

So when you think of wearing "green" in celebration of St. Pat's Day, it 
would be appropriate to wear a "tricolore" Shamrock. [;-) 

And if you planned on making any bets on St. Pat's heritage, at your favorite 
Irish Pub, come this weekend, I'd be sure to print this out, and be ready to 
use the references below as your proof. :)
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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.  2001. 
  
Patrick, Saint 
   
c.385-461, Christian missionary, the Apostle of Ireland, b. Bannavem 
Taberniae (an unknown place in Britain, possibly near the Severn or in 
Pembroke). He was one of the most successful missionaries in history.   
  
Early Life and His Calling 
The facts of Patrick's life are largely obscured by legend. He belonged to a 
Christian family of Roman citizenship. Captured when barely 16 by Irish 
marauders and enslaved, he worked for six years as a herder on the slopes of 
Slemish (near Ballymena, Co. Antrim) or of Croaghpatrick or (most likely) of 
both. Then, in response to a voice, he escaped and embarked for Gaul. 
http://www.bartleby.com/65/pa/Patrick.html
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New Advent-Catholic Encyclopedia

St. Patrick-------Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick, near Dumbarton, in 
Scotland, 
in the year 387; died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, 17 March, 493. 

He had for his parents Calphurnius and Conchessa. The former belonged to a 
Roman family of high rank and held the office of decurio in Gaul or Britain. 
Conchessa was a near relative of the great patron of Gaul, St. Martin of 
Tours. 
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm
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Patrick was not Irish to begin with. He was born in Scotland at a time when 
Ireland was a land of pagan kings and warriors. His parents were Romans, 
probably there as merchants or administrators of a Roman Colony. 
http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19980301/SAINTS/STPAT.HTM
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It is unclear exactly where Patricius Magonus Sucatus (Patrick) was 
born--somewhere in the west between the mouth of the Severn and the 
Clyde--but this most popular Irish saint was probably born in Scotland of 
British origin, perhaps in a village called Bannavem Taberniae. (Other 
possibilities are in Gaul or at Kilpatrick near Dunbarton, Scotland.) His 
father, Calpurnius, was a deacon and a civil official, and his grandfather 
was a priest.
http://users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/0317patr.htm
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True history and legend are intertwined when it comes to St. Patrick. It is 
known that he was born in Scotland and was kidnapped and sold in Ireland as a 
slave. He became fluent in the Irish language before making his escape to the 
continent. Eventually he was ordained as a deacon, then priest and finally as 
a bishop. Pope Celestine then sent him back to Ireland to preach the gospel. 
Evidently he was a great traveller, especially in Celtic countries, as 
innumerable places in Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland are 
named after him. Here it is where actual history and legend become difficult 
to separate.
http://www.irelandnow.com/heritage/myths/patrick.html
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Saint Patrick was born in 387 A.D. in Britain as Maewyn Succat. His father 
Calphurnius was a Roman official. Saint Patrick was kidnapped at age 16 and 
sold into slavery in Ireland, according to his autobiography .He escaped by 
boat to Britain after six years of captivity and traveled to St. Martin's 
monastery in Tours, France, where he studied under Saint Germain of Auxerre 
and became a priest. In 431 A.D. Pope Celestine I named him Patricius and 
sent him on a mission to Ireland.
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1502/shistory/stpatbio.html#top
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So who was the real St Patrick? We can confidently say that he was a real 
person. He tells us so himself, having left us a record, his Confessio, a 
justification of his life, written in Latin when he was an old man. This 
authentic record is a fascinating insight into Patrick, the man; written in 
his own words, we hear all about his fears and concerns, but little concrete 
about the places he went to, churches he established and people he met.

He was from Bannavem Taberniae, part of Roman Britain. Scholars have placed 
this settlement in a number of places: Carlisle, Devon and Wales are amongst 
the claimants. He was kidnapped from his Christian family by an Irish raiding 
party and taken to Ireland at the age of 16. As a captive in Ireland he 
herded animals, either sheep or pigs - his Latin is ambiguous on this point -
http://www.saintpatrickcentre.com/index2.html
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The "Confessio" of Saint Patrick
This autobiographical confession was written by Patrick himself, in Latin, 
around the year 450. It offers a unique record of life in the British Isles 
during those times. Born in England or Scotland, kidnapped and sold into 
slavery in Ireland as a teen, escaping probably to northern France, and 
returning to Ireland as a missionary after a prophetic dream... it's quite 
amazing that this record has survived!

"I, Patrick, a sinner, a most simple countryman, the least of all the 
faithful and most contemptible to many, had for father the deacon Calpurnius, 
son of the late Potitus, a priest, of the settlement [vicus] of Bannavem 
Taburniae; he had a small villa nearby where I was taken captive. I was at 
that time about sixteen years of age. I did not, indeed, know the true God; 
and I was taken into captivity in Ireland with many thousands of people.."
http://www.robotwisdom.com/jaj/patrick.html
http://www.ccel.org/p/patrick/confession/confession.html
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The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was 
born in Wales about AD 385. His given name was Maewyn, and he almost didn't 
get the job of bishop of Ireland because he lacked the required scholarship. 

Far from being a saint, until he was 16, he considered himself a pagan. At 
that age, he was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that raided 
his village. 
http://wilstar.com/holidays/patrick.htm