St. Patrick's Day
On March 17, the people of Dublin, New York, Chicago, and other cities across the world – including Wichita – will flood the streets donning green and proudly displaying the culture of the Irish people. St. Patrick's Day is now much more than just a day to remember one of the great Roman Catholic saints, but a global celebration of tradition, culture and the fearlessness of the Irish people.
Here in Wichita Fr. Jim Billinger honors St. Patrick by celebrating Mass and occasionally hanging out with friends and family. He believes that the courage of St. Patrick should be praised and remembered.
“He is a great figure in Christian history because he courageously brought the gospel to the country of Ireland despite great hardships,” said Fr. Billinger. “In fact, he was enslaved in Ireland as a youth and spent six years in slavery until he escaped. His faith in Jesus Christ helped him to trust in the providence of God and hope for deliverance from slavery. After he escaped, he sensed that the Holy Spirit was calling him to return to Ireland and evangelize the entire country.”
Although this holiday has been celebrated in the U.S. since the early 1600s, it did not become nationally celebrated until the 1820s when an influx of Irish immigrants came to the United States, according to history.com. Since then, the famous New York City parade has taken place on St. Patrick’s feast annually and a slew of other celebrations including in Chicago where they dye the Chicago river green.
“In the course of about 100 years, from 1820 to 1930, approximately 4.5 million Irish arrived in the United States to seek religious freedom and economic opportunities,” said Fr. Billinger. “The faith of these immigrants was, to a large degree, Catholic. In addition, Ireland was a country that had a great number of priests in the ‘40s and ‘50s; many came to the Wichita Diocese to exercise priestly ministry as well as in other areas where there were shortages of priests.”
Wichita – particularly the Delano district – is known for its vibrant celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. Delano hosts a Paddy Day parade which draws over 20,000 people yearly, according to Kake News. K-State University celebrates their iconic “Fake Patties Day” where students, visitors and the people of Manhattan participate in events a week early due to the school being out for spring break on the actual holiday.
During the 19th century Kansas was a hub for Irish immigration and many people are of Irish descent according to the Kansas Board of Ancient order of Hibernians (AOH). Junior Peyton Torgler comes from a rich Irish heritage and celebrates St. Patrick’s Day with her family every year.
“[My family and I] always wear green and we usually have dinner together,” said Torgler. “I love St. Patrick’s Day because he is such a cool saint, and it allows us to celebrate Irish tradition and culture.”