On March 17, from New York City to Dublin and scores of other places, parades and festivities commemorating St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland — and more recently, Nigeria — will attract millions of revelers worldwide.

But there’s more — much more — to the holiday than imbibing large quantities of Guinness stout, wearing green to fend off fussy leprechauns, or consuming cabbage and corned beef, an Irish mainstay.

Much of what we know about St. Patrick comes from the Confessio, a book he wrote toward the end of his life.

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For starters, Saint Patrick, known as the Enlightener of Ireland, was not Irish at all. Though details of his birthplace are murky, according to one early church account Saint Patrick was born in what is modern-day Great Britain around 390, to a Christian family of Roman citizenship and some means.

St. Patrick was kidnapped at age 16 by Irish pirates and forced into slavery as a shepherd.

During his six-year captivity, he prayed to Christ incessantly. Through this, his faith was immeasurably strengthened.

At the age of 22, he heard the voice of God in a dream urging him to flee Ireland. Soon after, he escaped, walking some 200 miles and finding passage on a ship headed toward Britain, where he was united with his family.

Subsequently, he chose the monastic life and was ordained a bishop, by St. Germanus, bishop of Auxerre in Gaul (modern-day France).

Selflessly, around 432, Patrick set out to free from paganism the country that had once enslaved him. He returned to Ireland some 20 years after his arduous escape and converted the Irish to Christianity.

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In three decades, his apostolic labors had established Christianity, the official religion of the Roman Empire at the time, in every corner of Ireland, where thousands were baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity.

Ireland’s Enlightener compared the clover-like plant with three distinct leaves to the mystery of the one Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — separate yet undivided.

Today, the shamrock is widely associated with Ireland and St. Patrick himself. Ireland’s Enlightener compared the clover-like plant with three distinct leaves to the mystery of the one Triune God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — separate yet undivided. He used it to illustrate the Holy Trinity to non-believers.

In addition to observance by the Church of Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is observed by the Eastern Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran denominations. Saint Patrick died on March 17, 461, in Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, after 40 years of living in poverty, preaching the Gospel, and working tirelessly in the vineyard of Christ.

Related: How Forgiveness Clarifies the Soul

A short one-stanza hymn (troparion) honoring St. Patrick and chanted in the Eastern Orthodox Liturgy reflects the saint’s love and zeal for Christ and others:

<

p style=”padding-left: 30px;”>”Holy Bishop Patrick,
 Faithful shepherd of Christ’s royal flock, You filled Ireland with the radiance of the Gospel: 
The mighty strength of the Trinity. 
Now that you stand before the Savior,
 Pray that He may preserve us in faith and love.”

Elizabeth M. Economou is a former CNBC staff business writer and adjunct professor. This piece originally appeared last year in LifeZette and has been udpated.