03 — The Mission to Ireland

What the genuine writings let us say about Patrick’s actual work in Ireland — and what they do not. The first file follows the return as missionary bishop, the baptisms and ordinations, and the organization of a church among a people outside the Roman world. The second reflects on the character and limits of the mission as the Confessio and Epistola present it, against the much fuller (and much later) itinerary the Lives would supply.

File	Description
return-and-evangelization.md	Ordination and the return as missionary bishop; the baptisms “of so many thousands”; ordaining clergy; the organization of the Irish church — from Patrick’s own testimony
the-shape-of-the-mission.md	The character and limits of the mission; mission beyond the edge of the Empire; what the genuine sources establish against the later itinerary tradition

See Also

• 02 — Britain, Captivity, and the Call — the call that sent him back
• 04 — The Letter to Coroticus — the mission’s pastoral crisis, in Patrick’s own words
• 07 — The Irish Church — the church his mission helped seed
• Master README — the collection overview