priated to Great Britain
St. Patrick calls Coroticus, a British Prince, "Fellow Citizen"
Summary
The Site of the Villula where St. Patrick was born

ST. PATRICK'S PARENTAGE

ABOUT the middle of the fourth century a noble decurion named
Calphurnius espoused Conchessa, the niece of St. Martin of Tours.
Heaven blessed their union with several children, the youngest of whom
was a boy, who received at his baptism the name of Succath, which in
the Gaelic tongue signifies "valiant."

Jocelin is responsible for the statement that the parents of the future
Apostle of Ireland took, by mutual consent, the vow of celibacy after
St. Patrick's birth, and that Calphurnius, like St. Gregory of Nyssa,
St. Hilary, and St. Germanus, who were all married men, "closed his
days in the priesthood" (chap, ii., p. 2). "There were thousands of
priests and Bishops," as Dr. Dollinger observes, "who had sons before
their ordination" ("History of the Church," vol. ii., p. 23, note).

There are others, however, like Father Bullen Morris, who are of
opinion that St. Patrick's declaration in the "Confession" that his
father was "a deacon" is a mistake on the part of the copyist for
"decurion," and, as a proof of this contention, they point to the words
made use of by the Saint in his Epistle to Coroticus, which is
admittedly genuine: "I am of noble blood, for my father was a decurion.
I have bartered my nobility--for which I feel neither shame nor
sorrow--for the sake of others." It is difficult to reconcile this
statement with the assurance given in the "Confession" that his father
was a humble deacon. "It is inconceivable," as Father Bullen Morris
argues, "that the Saint, sprung from a noble family, should base his
claim to nobility on the fact that his father, Calphurnius, was a
deacon. On the other hand, the theory that Calphurnius was a Roman
officer fits in with both statements of the Saint" ("St. Patrick,
Apostle of Ireland," p. 285, Appendix).

The same author gives another reason for calling in question this part
of the text of the "Confession" in the "Book of Armagh." A scribe made
an addition to the genealogy of St. Patrick as recorded in the Book,
writing on the margin "Son of Odisseus"; and these words are actually
introduced into the text by Dr. Whitley Stokes, in his edition of the
"Confession," without either note or comment. It is easy to imagine,
therefore, that ancient Celtic writers, with their passion for
genealogies, sh