Q 01/05

Which country is Saint Patrick the primary patron saint of?

A) Ireland

B) Scotland

C) Wales

D) England

Answer · why

A) Ireland

Brigid of Kildare and Columba are the island's other two patrons.

Q 02/05

By his own account, how did the teenage Patrick first arrive on the island he evangelised?

A) As a merchant's apprentice

B) As a slave taken by pirates

C) As a missionary

D) As a Roman soldier

Answer · why

B) As a slave taken by pirates

He was sixteen when Irish raiders seized him from his home in Britain.

Q 03/05

Legend says Patrick used which plant to explain the Trinity?

A) The four-leaf clover

B) The rose

C) The shamrock

D) The thistle

Answer · why

C) The shamrock

The snake-banishing story is a legend too; Ireland never had snakes.

Q 04/05

Saint Nicholas, whose gift-giving legend became Santa Claus, was bishop of which city?

A) Bari

B) Antioch

C) Ephesus

D) Myra

Answer · why

D) Myra

It lies in modern Turkey; his relics were later carried off to Bari in Italy.

Q 05/05

What did Saint Nicholas famously drop through a poor man's window on three nights?

A) Sacks of gold coins

B) Loaves of bread

C) Wooden toys

D) Letters of introduction

Answer · why

A) Sacks of gold coins

The gifts provided dowries so the three daughters would not be forced into prostitution.