Feast Day: January 15
Also called: Paul of Thebes
Patron of: Hermits
Title: The First Hermit
Early Life
Saint Paul the Hermit was born in Egypt around the year A.D. 227, during the reign of the Emperor Septimius Severus. Orphaned at the age of fifteen, he was well-educated and came from a noble Christian family. His youth was marked by prayer, piety, and great charity, but his virtue would be tested early.
At the age of sixteen, during the fierce persecution of Christians under the Emperor Decius (around A.D. 250), Paul sought refuge—not out of cowardice, but to avoid being forced to renounce the Faith or deliver it to the persecutors. He fled into the desert, intending only to stay a short while.
But God had other designs.
The Life in the Desert
In the harsh solitude of the Egyptian Thebaid, Saint Paul discovered a cave near a clear spring and a palm tree that supplied both food and clothing. There he remained in continual prayer, contemplation, and penance—not for a few days, nor years, but for nearly ninety years.
His life was one of absolute simplicity and total dependence on God. Tradition holds that after the palm tree ceased to bear fruit in his old age, a raven miraculously brought him half a loaf of bread every day, sustaining his body as he nourished his soul with the Word of God and unceasing praise.
He wore a tunic made of palm leaves and lived in the most profound poverty and humility. His communion with God was so intimate that he is said to have experienced ecstatic visions and mystical graces. Yet he remained hidden and unknown to the world until his final days.
Encounter with Saint Anthony
In the providence of God, when Saint Paul had reached the age of 113, God revealed his presence to Saint Anthony the Great, who was then 90 years old and already revered as a father of monasticism. Anthony was instructed in a vision to seek out a man more holy than himself.
After a long and arduous journey through the desert, Saint Anthony found Saint Paul in his cave. The two embraced as brothers and conversed about the glories of God, the trials of the spiritual life, and the joys of paradise. The raven, now bringing a whole loaf of bread, testified to the sacredness of their meeting.
After a night spent in holy communion, Saint Paul informed Anthony that his time on earth had come to an end. As he died in Anthony’s arms, his soul, according to tradition, was seen ascending to heaven, carried by angels.
Anthony, lacking tools, was unsure how to bury his holy friend. Suddenly, two lions appeared, dug a grave with their paws, and then quietly departed. Saint Anthony buried the body with honor and reverence, keeping as a relic Saint Paul’s tunic of palm leaves, which he wore only on great feasts.
Legacy and Veneration
Saint Paul the Hermit is honored in the Church as the first Christian hermit—a man who fled the world not out of fear, but to live solely for God. His life inspired generations of hermits, monks, and ascetics across the Christian world, especially in the East.
His cult was widespread in the early centuries, and he is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on January 15:
“In the Thebaid, the birthday of Saint Paul, the first hermit, who lived alone in the desert from the age of sixteen to the age of one hundred and thirteen, being unknown to men, but famous to God.”
The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit (the Pauline Fathers) was later established in his honor, preserving his legacy of prayer, solitude, and love of God.
Spiritual Reflection
Saint Paul teaches us the value of silence, solitude, and complete trust in Divine Providence. He reminds us that the desert—literal or spiritual—is not a place of abandonment, but of encounter with the living God. His story urges us to detach from the vanities of the world and seek first the kingdom of Heaven.
✠ “For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?” – Mark 8:36