Did Rolla students decide long ago that St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was also the patron saint of engineers … or is the patron saint of engineers part an official Vatican thing (as we’ve now been told)?
While we’re waiting for discussion on that, here are some links:
The only Catholic site I could find that claims that St. Patrick is the Patron Saint of Engineers is here: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1325
I don’t know where they got their information. It could have been rumor passed down by generations of Miners that eventually got picked up. Some other lists of patron saints don’t include him.
I believe MU students deemed him the patron saint of engineers…
Here is another site that lists him as being patron saint of engineers: http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-patrick/
among other things, including against snakes and against fear of snakes (something else that was not made up on this campus).
I find it hard to believe the Catholic Church would choose a particular saint’s patronage based on a bunch of college students’ celebrations over the past 100 years.
If you’re interested in reading a history of Saint Patrick’s life and all the amazing things he did, you can go here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11554a.htm
Just got back from the Engineering Expo at the University of Louisville Speed School. They hold this every year around St. Pat’s because of the discovery in 1903 at the University of Missouri that St. Pat is an engnineer (straight out of the expo program.)
According to http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/Saints/saint.aspx?id=1325
He’s listed as a Patron saint of Engineers.
In the end does it really matter? According to several sites online, they claim Patrick was never really cannonized properly so therefore he’s not even a real Saint depending on which Catholic denomination you ascribe to.
Why worry about it? Whether he was before or not, St. Patrick has been and continues to be an integral part of our Traditions and culture here at MSM/UMR/M S&T. Let’s just make sure we keep our Traditions alive and vital.
Three Cheers for St. Patrick and for St. Pat’s Week Rolla!!