Prosper also informs us, that Palladius was a deacon[114] of the Roman Church, and that he received a commission from the Holy See to send Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, to root out heresy,[115] and convert the Britons to the Catholic faith.  Thus we find the Church, even in the earliest ages, occupied in her twofold mission of converting the heathen, and preserving the faithful from error.  St. Innocent I., writing to Decentius, in the year 402, refers thus to this important fact:  “Is it not known to all that the things which have been delivered to the Roman Church by Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, and preserved ever since, should be observed by all; and that nothing is to be introduced devoid of authority, or borrowed elsewhere?  Especially, as it is manifest that no one has founded churches for all Italy, the Gauls, Spain, Africa, and the interjacent islands, except such as were appointed priests by the venerable Peter and his successors.”

Palladius was accompanied by four companions:  Sylvester and Solinus, who remained after him in Ireland; and Augustinus and Benedictus, who followed him[116] to Britain, but returned to their own country after his death.  The Vita Secunda mentions that he brought relics of the blessed Peter and Paul, and other saints, to Ireland, as well as copies of the Old and New Testament, all of which were given to him by Pope Celestine.

The birthplace of the great Apostle of Ireland has long been, and still continues, a subject of controversy.  St. Fiacc states that he was born at Nemthur,[117] and the Scholiast on St. Fiacc’s Hymn identifies this with Alcuith, now Dumbarton, on the Firth of Clyde.  The most reliable authority unquestionably is St. Patrick’s own statements, in his Confessio.  He there says (1) that his father had a farm or villa at Bonavem Taberniae, from whence he was taken captive.  It does not follow necessarily from this, that St. Patrick was born there; but it would appear probable that this was a paternal estate. (2)The saint speaks of Britanniae as his country.  The difficulty lies in the identification of these places.  In the Vita Secunda, Nemthur and Campus Taberniae are identified.  Probus writes, that he had ascertained as a matter of certainty, that the Vicus Bannave Taburniae regionis was situated in Neustria.  The Life supposed to be by St. Eleran, states that the parents of the saint were of Strats-Cludi (Strath-Clyde), but that he was born in Nemthur—­“Quod oppidum in Campo Taburniae est;” thus indicating an early belief that France was the land of his nativity.  St. Patrick’s mention of Britanniae, however, appears to be conclusive.  There was a tribe called Brittani in northern France, mentioned by Pliny, and the Welsh Triads distinctly declare that the Britons of Great Britain came from thence.

There can be no doubt, however, that St. Patrick was intimately connected with Gaul.  His mother, Conchessa, was either a sister or niece of the great St. Martin of Tours; and it was undoubtedly from Gaul that the saint was carried captive to Ireland.