Yesterday, the White House posted President Trump's Presidential Message on Saint Patrick’s Day and Irish American Heritage Month. The Message reads in part:
Today, and throughout the month of March, I join the Irish American community and all American citizens in celebrating the bond between our two nations and commemorating the towering life and legacy of Saint Patrick—the patron Saint of Ireland and an immortal icon of faith, freedom, and fortitude.
Born in the fourth century, Saint Patrick spent his life traversing the rugged frontiers of medieval Ireland to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Celtic people. In the face of relentless persecution, imprisonment, and even assassination attempts, he ventured into unknown lands and hostile territory to proclaim the truth, fearlessly obeying Christ’s command to “make disciples of all nations.” Tradition holds that, during 40 days of prayer and fasting on a mountaintop, he banished all serpents and demons off of the Emerald Isle and taught the mystery of the Holy Trinity to pagans using the three-leaved shamrock, setting untold hearts on fire for Christ.
To this day, Saint Patrick lives on in our country and around the world as a heroic Christian witness, a testament to the power of prayer, and a timeless exemplar of the strength of the Irish people. In the 19th and 20th centuries, millions of Irish natives brought his faith and missionary spirit across the Atlantic and onto American shores....
As we celebrate 250 glorious years of American independence, we also pay tribute to the distinct role of Irish Americans in our national journey....
