Was St. Patrick Gay?

There is no evidence to support a gay St. Patrick. If anything, history (as we explored in an earlier post) points to Patrick being an unabashed fan of women. However, there is one incident, which Patrick recorded himself in his Confession, that may have given rise to such a rumor.

After escaping slavery and trekking an estimated two hundred miles to the coast to catch his ship (the one God had told him about in a dream), the crew of said ship didn’t simply let him aboard. To quote Patrick:

“The day I arrived, the ship was about to leave the place. I said I needed to set sail with them, but the captain was not at all pleased. He replied unpleasantly and angrily: ‘Don’t you dare try to come with us.’ When I heard that, I left them and went back to the hut where I had lodgings. I began to pray while I was going; and before I even finished the prayer, I heard one of them shout aloud at me: ‘Come quickly – those men are calling you!’ I turned back right away, and they began to say to me: ‘Come – we’ll trust you. Prove you’re our friend in any way you wish.’ That day, I refused to suck their breasts, because of my reverence for God.”

source: The Confession of St. Patrick

Wait…what?

If you’re wondering what in the heck is happening in the above scene, wonder no longer: It’s likely a case of Patrick simply not understanding a local Irish custom. As Thomas Cahill explains:

“[The sailors] even offered their nipples to be sucked, the ancient Irish version of ‘kiss and make up.’ Patricius, too much the Roman for such outré goings-on, held back—he says ‘for fear of God,’ but better minds than Patricius’s have succumbed to a confusion of Roman custom and Christian faith. The sailors shrugged: ‘You can make friends with us however you like.’ Patricius jumped on board, and they sailed at once.”

source: How the Irish Saved Civilization

While Patrick himself likely never engaged in homosexuality (or even innocent nipple-sucking), he makes no mention of speaking out against it. And even if he did speak out against homosexuality, he failed to make a convincing argument. To quote Cahill:

“Before [Patrick’s] mission, Irish sexual arrangements were relatively improvisational. Trial ‘marriages’ of one year, multiple partners, and homosexual relations among warriors on campaign were all more or less the order of the day. Despite Patrick’s great success in changing the warrior mores of the Irish tribes, their sexual mores altered little.”

source: How the Irish Saved Civilization

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Saint Patrick in Your Pocket

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