The first recorded St. Patrick's Day parade was held not in Ireland but in the United States in 1762, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City.
In the Confessio, St. Patrick writes: "I saw a man coming, as it were from Ireland. His name was Victoricus, and he carried many letters, and he gave me one of them. I read the heading: "The Voice of the Irish". As I began the letter, I imagined in that moment that I heard the voice of those very people who were near the wood of Foclut, which is beside the western sea--and they cried out, as with one voice: "We appeal to you, holy servant boy, to come and walk among us."
Saint Patrick's Day was officially recognized in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church.
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