Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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SHAMROCK

A symbol of the Trinity. Three leaflets on one stem representing three persons in one God. Said to have been used by St. Patrick in his sermon to Laoghaire, chief of the Irish clans, who came to seize the saint for daring to light the Easter fire on the Hill of Slane. For this reason and because Patrick generally used it to illustrate the Trinity, the shamrock has become an emblem of the Apostle of Ireland and a symbol of the Irish people everywhere.