To pay his way back, there is a claim that he worked as a prostitute. Later, young Maewyn Succat escaped, but returned to undertake the evangelizing of Ireland that he’s famed for. In Ancient Roman society, slaves, male and female, were freely used for sexual purposes. He was originally brought to Ireland as a Roman slave. This is a rather tenuous basis for a claim that Patrick was gay, but there is more from his youth. Tirechan wrote that “he gave him the name Benignus, because he took Patrick’s feet between his hands and would not sleep with his father and mother, but wept unless he would be allowed to sleep with Patrick.” Patrick baptized the boy and made him his close lifelong companion, so much so that Benignus succeeded Patrick as bishop of Armagh. Patrick, tells the story of a man Patrick visited and converted to Christianity, who had a son to whom Patrick took a strong liking. Tirechan, a late seventh century cleric who wrote about St. Patrick himself may have had a relationship tinged with homoeroticism. In his book on Irish gay history, Terrible Queer Creatures, Brian Lacey presents some evidence that Patrick may have had a long term intimate relationship with a man:
So what do you do, if you want to join in the fun, but cannot find a trace of green blood in your ancestry, no matter how far back you go? Good old St Patrick is one of a surprising number of queer saints and martyrs in Christian history, giving gays, Irish or not, an excuse to enjoy his day.
Saint Patrick’s Day is a time for grand celebration in many parts of the world, with green beer and shamrocks sprouting in the most unlikely places. Each year on This day, Irish and Catholics everywhere celebrate the Feast of Saint Patrick who died on March 17, 461. Known as the “Apostle of Ireland”, he is the primary patron saint of that country. Patrick, originally named Maewyn Succat, was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. “Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’ve prepared for it.”