te."

Prosper also informs us, that Palladius was a deacon[114] of the Roman
Church, and that he received a commission from the Holy See to send
Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, to root out heresy,[115] and convert the
Britons to the Catholic faith. Thus we find the Church, even in the
earliest ages, occupied in her twofold mission of converting the
heathen, and preserving the faithful from error. St. Innocent I.,
writing to Decentius, in the year 402, refers thus to this important
fact: "Is it not known to all that the things which have been delivered
to the Roman Church by Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and preserved
ever since, should be observed by all; and that nothing is to be
introduced devoid of authority, or borrowed elsewhere? Especially, as it
is manifest that no one has founded churches for all Italy, the Gauls,
Spain, Africa, and the interjacent islands, except such as were
appointed priests by the venerable Peter and his successors."

Palladius was accompanied by four companions: Sylvester and Solinus, who
remained after him in Ireland; and Augustinus and Benedictus, who
followed him[116] to Britain, but returned to their own country after
his death. The _Vita Secunda_ mentions that he brought relics of the
blessed Peter and Paul, and other saints, to Ireland, as well as copies
of the Old and New Testament, all of which were given to him by Pope
Celestine.

The birthplace of the great Apostle of Ireland has long been, and still
continues, a subject of controversy. St. Fiacc states that he was born
at Nemthur,[117] and the Scholiast on St. Fiacc's Hymn identifies this
with Alcuith, now Dumbarton, on the Firth of Clyde. The most reliable
authority unquestionably is St. Patrick's own statements, in his
_Confessio_. He there says (1) that his father had a farm or villa at
Bonavem Taberniae, from whence he was taken captive. It does not follow
necessarily from this, that St. Patrick was born there; but it would
appear probable that this was a paternal estate. (2)The saint speaks of
Britanniae as his country. The difficulty lies in the identification of
these places. In the _Vita Secunda_, Nemthur and Campus Taberniae are
identified. Probus writes, that he had ascertained as a matter of
certainty, that the _Vicus Bannave Taburniae regionis_ was situated in
Neustria. The Life supposed to be by St. Eleran, states that the parents
of the saint were of Strats-Cludi (Strath-Clyde), but that he was born
in Nemthur-