Stories & Legends
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St. Patrick Raises the King’s Son & Daughter
from the Dead
In his travels throughout Ireland, St. Patrick had stopped at the village near present day Dublin when news came to him of a crushing grief that oppressed the court of King Alphimus. In the sorrowing palace, chill and dead laid the son of the King in a cold chamber.
But sorrow came upon sorrow. For, nigh had the day passed that another body was found lying dead upon the riverbank. The body was brought by grieved and frightened servants before the King, who recognized the lifeless body of his daughter, who had drowned in the river.
That cursed day he had lost not just one child, but two. The bodies of the Irish Prince and Princess were laid next to each other, and their tombs were prepared in the pagan manner of the region. But in this bitter trial that had befallen him, a glimmer of hope rose in the heart of the King.
For rumors flew that the great Patrick of Armagh was not far from the castle. And this Patrick was none other than the one who, in the name of the Unknown God, had raised numerous dead persons to life.
When word of this reached the grieving King, he made haste to seek out the Saint.
Patrick came before him and King Alphimus addressed him: "Can He, Maker of all things and thy King of Kings, make be that which is no more for me? Speak the word, let the sovereign deed be done. Then thy Lord will be the Lord of mine and all my domain, the Lord of all."
Patrick, undismayed, prayed, calmly and firmly as the sun moves round. Anxious eyes fixed themselves upon those silent coffins. A great silence descended on the hall. But, then, something stirred within them.
In an instant, King Alphimus rushed to the tombs and cries from all sides came from the people. For behold, from the vaults of death came his children, rising up to meet him!
Then St. Patrick told the King that it was God Who worked this great wonder. Hearing this, King Alphimus proclaimed: "For this great thing we are vassals to thy Lord, and to Him alone shallt I and my Kingdom give tribute."
And Patrick raised his right hand in benediction: "God be praised! If the tribute be paid each year, not the world need Dublin fear. Gifts shall fall from high heaven. Goodly wives the wives shall be, the men live manful and die free." And so he blessed the fair city so long as it remain faithful to its promise to faithfully serve the true God.
The King, his household and nobles did not delay to enter the light of the true Faith with Baptism and the reception of the Sacraments.
Thus, by the physical resurrection of the Prince and Princess, the spiritual resurrection of the whole area from the darkness of idolatry and paganism was accomplished. Soon churches were built and tributes appointed to Patrick as their patron, that is, as the first Bishop of Armagh. And it is reputed that from the revived Princess Dublina that the present great city of Dublin received its name.
St Patrick is claimed to have worked 33 resurrection miracles.
Patrick raisies the son & daughter of the King
That cursed day he had lost not just one child, but two. The bodies of the Irish Prince and Princess were laid next to each other, and their tombs were prepared in the pagan manner of the region. But in this bitter trial that had befallen him, a glimmer of hope rose in the heart of the King.
For rumors flew that the great Patrick of Armagh was not far from the castle. And this Patrick was none other than the one who, in the name of the Unknown God, had raised numerous dead persons to life.
When word of this reached the grieving King, he made haste to seek out the Saint.
Patrick came before him and King Alphimus addressed him: "Can He, Maker of all things and thy King of Kings, make be that which is no more for me? Speak the word, let the sovereign deed be done. Then thy Lord will be the Lord of mine and all my domain, the Lord of all."
Patrick, undismayed, prayed, calmly and firmly as the sun moves round. Anxious eyes fixed themselves upon those silent coffins. A great silence descended on the hall. But, then, something stirred within them.
The King & his people were baptized
Then St. Patrick told the King that it was God Who worked this great wonder. Hearing this, King Alphimus proclaimed: "For this great thing we are vassals to thy Lord, and to Him alone shallt I and my Kingdom give tribute."
And Patrick raised his right hand in benediction: "God be praised! If the tribute be paid each year, not the world need Dublin fear. Gifts shall fall from high heaven. Goodly wives the wives shall be, the men live manful and die free." And so he blessed the fair city so long as it remain faithful to its promise to faithfully serve the true God.
The King, his household and nobles did not delay to enter the light of the true Faith with Baptism and the reception of the Sacraments.
Thus, by the physical resurrection of the Prince and Princess, the spiritual resurrection of the whole area from the darkness of idolatry and paganism was accomplished. Soon churches were built and tributes appointed to Patrick as their patron, that is, as the first Bishop of Armagh. And it is reputed that from the revived Princess Dublina that the present great city of Dublin received its name.
St Patrick is claimed to have worked 33 resurrection miracles.
Adapted from Raised from the Dead by Fr. Albert Hebert, 1986, pp. 194,195
& “The Blessing of Dublin,” The Irish Monthly 18, n. 202, 1890, pp. 215–218.
Posted March 19, 2022
& “The Blessing of Dublin,” The Irish Monthly 18, n. 202, 1890, pp. 215–218.
Posted March 19, 2022
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