Move Over Patrick?

                              A hand-woven Saint Brigid’s Cross on display in  St. Brigid’s Cathedral in Kildare.

Credit...

 On St. Paddy's Day you might think my focus would be on Patrick, the fifth century primary Irish saint, who was reputed to have brought Christianity to the pagans. We know now that there were probably previous missionaries to this island just beyond the reaches of the Roman empire, and that there was an established Druid spiritual culture which received and adapted the gospel message and religious practice of the Roman church. 

It may seem perverse that I would prefer to mention Brigid, one of the two secondary saints of Ireland, Columba or Columcille being the other. That's because there is a groundswell of interest in and devotion to this figure of Irish lore. Was the legend of Christian Brigid simply appropriation of a Druid predecessor? While some argue that this is the case there is a case to be made for Brigid as a dynamic Christian leader of her time, an abbess who may have been ordained a bishop and whose community included both women and men.

There is a Brigidine Roman Catholic order with a presence in different countries around the world.and there are Brigidine sisters in Ireland who are involved in a movement which has revived interest in the saint. According to a recent New York Times article: 

Much of the revitalized interest is the result of the Brigidines’ emphasis on nature, ecology and healing, and their shift away from the patriarchal faith of traditional Irish Catholicism...

“People are coming in groups from all around the world — interfaith groups, no faith groups, goddess groups, Buddhist monks, all sorts of people,” said Sister Rita Minehan, one of three nuns of the Brigidine Order who in 2015 opened Solas Bhride (the Light of Brigid), a hermitage and prayer center on the outskirts of Kildare. “Her legacy is appealing to people again today, I think because of her alignment with the earth, and because our planet is in danger.”  https://solasbhride.ie/

This certainly intrigues me, and if I was still in congregational ministry I would be inclined to spend some continuing education time in such a setting. 

I've long been interested in Patrick and the legacy of the Celtic saints as earth-honouring, collaborative, and intuitive. The hierarchical and patriarchy model of Christian community has been a disaster in places such as Ireland. So for all the green beer and shamrocks for the day it may be time for even Patrick to humbly move over and give Brigid her due. 

                                                                St. Patrick -- Jen Norton