Fashioned after the carving and painting style of the bestselling Bellavista 6" statues from Milagros, these 4" statues feature all the classic details of the originals. These diminutive saints are ideal for the office, the locker, or the small home shrine, and they make a great starter set for the collector in all of us!
 
Let me start with a brief history of St. Patrick. St. Patrick was not Irish by birth. In fact, he was Roman-British. He was born circa 398 AD and at the age of 16, he was captured by Irish pirates and forced into slavery. He later ran away and was able to return to Britain. St. Patrick had a vision and converted to Christianity. He then returned as a missionary to Ireland to help convert the pagans. There are many legends surrounding St. Patrick. The most famous one involves how he drove out all of the snakes from Ireland. In this story, the snakes are actually symbolic of pagans and the story itself is a retelling of Patrick's Christianizing of Ireland. However, for New Orleans Spiritualists, the snakes became symbols for enemies, hence why St. Patrick is called upon to banish enemies from our lives.

With regards to the driving out of snakes, it should be stated that snakes could also be symbols of demons and this could be taken to mean that St. Patrick can be called upon to help us banish our personal demons and vices, such as addictions, as well as actual demonic entities. However, these are not the only reasons why St. Patrick is invoked. In Ireland, St. Patrick is believed to help in childbirth, to help stop seizures and to ward against the evil eye.

There are many other legends surrounding St. Patrick that speak to his miraculous powers. In one legend St. Patrick transformed himself and his companions into deer in order to escape the wrath of pagans hell-bent on murdering them. In another legend, St. Patrick used a bell to drive off demons in the form of blackbirds or crows, another reference to St. Patrick's power to banish evil. In another legend St. Patrick was attacked by a group of pagan women who refused to convert. The women began to hurl curses and spells at St. Patrick and in retaliation he drove them into the sea where they were transformed into mermaids. They could never again return to the land and when they died they were lost forever as they had no souls, or so the belief was. One day when St. Patrick was elderly he was walking the beach and a mermaid startled him. The she-fish humbly asked if it was possible she could be saved. St. Patrick, in an arrogant fashion roared back that sooner shall his walking staff burst into full bloom than an evil creature such as she be saved. Almost immediately the walking staff burst into full bloom with multiple flowers of different hues and perfumes. St. Patrick was immediately humbled and realized that he had acted foolishly and that salvation was available to all who sincerely seek it. The mermaid let out a cry of glee and disappeared beneath the waves. Of course, that is my favorite St. Patrick legend!
 
Regardless of how you decide to work with him, St. Patrick can make a wonderful spirit to have on your side.