When she was 16, he was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland, where he worked as a shepherd. While staying there for six years, he dealt with matters of faith. He managed to escape to Gaul (now France, Belgium, Switzerland, and north-west Italy), where he was ordained a priest. In a dream, he heard a call to return to Ireland and preach his faith in Christ there. He returned to Ireland as a missionary bishop in 432.
The work of Saint Patrick led to the evangelization of the northern, central, and western parts of the island. He managed to make important conversions in royal families and introduced the written word (in Latin) through monastic schools.
After the death of Saint Patrick, the Irish elite were already literate and able to record their history in writing. Ireland became almost exclusively Christian and a center of learning and culture, but much of this heritage was destroyed during the Viking invasions of the 9th and 10th centuries.
