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==Image and memory==

==Image and memory==

As Ireland's best-known saint, Patrick became a contested figure during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, with various factions trying to use him to validate their claims. Protestants and Catholics both claimed him as the founder of their church in Ireland. Counter-Reformation leaders also had to battle the venerable image of Patrick as a miracle-working, Moses-like prophet in order to make him into the model of a devout pastor administering sacraments and encouraging repentance for sins. By the middle of the 17th century he was firmly established as the founder of Catholicism in Ireland. By 1800 Protestants in ireland had also adopted him.

As Ireland's best-known saint, Patrick became a contested figure during the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation, with various factions trying to use him to validate their claims. Protestants and Catholics both claimed him as the founder of their church in Ireland. Catholics leaders also had to revise the traditional image of Patrick as a miracle-working, Moses-like prophet in order to remake him into the model of a devout pastor administering sacraments and encouraging repentance for sins. By the middle of the 17th century he was firmly established as the founder of Catholicism in Ireland. By 1800 Protestants in Ireland had also adopted him.

In the United States Irish Catholics made St. Patrick's Day (March 17) an occasion for major celebrations. Today it is widely appreciated as a day for parades and drinking salutes and the wearing of the green.

In the United States Irish Catholics made St. Patrick's Day (March 17) an occasion for major celebrations. Today it is widely appreciated as a day for watching parades, drinking salutes and the wearing of the green.

==Further reading==

==Further reading==