Saint Paulus

Paulus of Verdun (576-648) was a bishop of Verdun in the Lorraine region of France from 630 until his death in 647 or 648. Paulus was the son of a wealthy family – his name suggests that he was part of the old Gallo-Roman aristocracy. According to St Augustine Abbey's Book of Saints, Paulus is said to have been the brother of Saint Germanus of Paris. As a young man he was educated at the court of Chlothar II where he belonged to a small but very influence circle of young boys such as the future king Dagobert I, Desiderius, the later bishop of Cahors, and Eligius, the later advisor of Dagobert I and bishop of Noyon-Tournai according to the letter of Desiderius of Cahors (Epistola I.10). He became a hermit and spent time on Paulsberg (lat: Mons Cebenna) across the Moselle from Trier, in the Vosges mountains. Later he joined the monastery at Tholey in what is now Saarland. There he had charge of the school and is said to have become the second abbot. His tenure as abbot continued from 626 to 643/647. He was named the bishop of Verdun about 630 by King Dagobert I. According to his biography he was made bishop against his will due to the influence of one of his students, Adalgisel Grimo. Reportedly he found the diocese in a very poor financial state and was aided by gifts from Adalgisel and the Frankish King of Austrasia. After his death Paulus was buried in the church of St. Saturninus in Verdun, which he had built and which was later renamed St. Paul's after him. Paulus's remains were later translated to a new monastery that was founded by Bishop Viefrid from 970 to 973 and was dedicated to him. The Abbey of Saint-Paul de Verdun was originally occupied by Benedictines, but in 1135 by Premonstratensians, and was finally destroyed in 1552. His feast day is February 8 in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. According to a legend related by Bertarius of Verdun, one day Paulus was working in the bakery in the Abbey of Tholey when the oven malfunctioned.