Five Simple Catholic Ways to Celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day

Laura Range shares simple and inexpensive ideas for celebrating this saint's feast day with your family. 

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! While the rest of the world may be thinking of rainbows and four-leaf clovers and pints of beer, we as Catholic mothers have both the duty and privilege to share with our families the true origins of this day: a Catholic feast day honoring the life of one of the Church’s most popular, yet perhaps not always well-known, saints!  

Saint Patrick's Life  

Born in Britain in the 4th century, Saint Patrick was captured and brought to Ireland as a slave in his teens. He escaped as a young adult and returned to his family in Britain, but amazingly decided to become a priest and return to Ireland. With true missionary zeal, his teaching and preaching throughout Ireland converted the pagan nation to Christianity. 

Catholic Ways to Celebrate  

Sadly, the secular symbols of leprechauns and luck as well as the excessive drinking and carousing that often occur on his feast day are in such contrast to this saint’s strength, virtue, and evangelization that we should be celebrating. So what are some ways to celebrate this feast day with our families in a truly Catholic way? Here are a few simple ideas to get you started. 

Pray Saint Patrick's Prayer

Pray the Breastplate of Saint Patrick. This is a beautiful and powerful prayer of protection that reminds us to ask Christ to surround us amid the dangers of this world and encourages us to see Him in every moment and every person we meet. 

Eat Something Green 

Eat green vegetables and offer it up for the conversion of sinners! The color green is often associated with Ireland’s beautiful landscape as well as one of the colors on its flag. Because we are in the midst of Lent, eating green veggies as a sacrifice on this feast day is totally appropriate!  

Watch a Biopic

If your parish has a subscription to Formed, watch the movie Patrick: Brave Shepherd of the Emerald Isle with your younger children or listen to the audio drama The Trials of Saint Patrick with your older children (parental guidance recommended for that one due to intensity). 

Color the Saint

Download and print out the Saint Patrick coloring page here on CatholicMom, and have a coloring contest. 

Make a Shamrock and Honor the Trinity 

Do a shamrock craft, such as this one from Catholic Icing, and discuss the mystery of the Trinity. Then go visit the Trinity at your local parish by attending Mass, Adoration, or just a short visit to the tabernacle! 

How will you and your family celebrate Saint Patrick's Day this year? 

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Copyright 2025 Laura Range
Images: Canva