Thursday, January 15, 2015

Saint of the day: Paul the Hermit

The following comes from the Patron Saints Index:

Paul grew up in an upper-class, Christian family. He was well educated, fluent in Greek and Egyptian. His parents died when the boy was 15. When the persecutions of Decius began a few years later, Paul fled into the desert to escape both them, and the machinations of his brother Peter and other family members who wanted his property. He lived as a desert hermit in a cave the remainder of his 113 year life, surviving off fruit and water, wearing leaves or nothing, spending his time in prayer; legend says a raven kept him supplied with bread. Late in life he came to know, and was buried by Saint Anthony the Abbot. His biography was written by Saint Jerome.

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