Devotional card
St. Paul of Latros
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Saints and feasts
St. Paul of Latros
Hermit
Paul lived as a monk and hermit on Mount Latros in Asia Minor. Butler remembers his prayer, care for disciples, religious foundations and generosity to poor people.
The reading
ⓘ Butler source
Alban Butler, The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints, Volume XII (December), Thomas Richardson and Son, Derby, for the Catholic Book Society, 1846; December 20, “St Paul of Latrus or Latra, Hermit,” pp. 322-325.
Paul came from Pergamum and was guided toward monastic life by his elder brother Basil. He received formation in a community on Mount Latros before being permitted to live in greater solitude. Butler’s account presents the hermit’s vocation as one formed through prayer and obedience.
Other men settled near him and sought his direction. Although personally austere, Paul took care that those under him had what they needed. His desire for retirement led him for a time to Samos, where he helped restore religious communities, before he returned to Latros at his disciples’ request.
He continued to teach those who sought his counsel and to give generously to people in distress. Toward the end of his life he prepared rules for his community. Butler prints the notice under December 20 but records a December 15 death and other calendar witnesses; this profile retains the source’s entry date while making that distinction clear.
Historical note
An original Novena Regina reading adapted and summarized from the cited pre-1962 source. This is not a transcription of Butler’s words.
Butler places the reading under December 20 and records December 15 as the death and Greek commemoration date, with another witness for December 21. These dates are not treated as interchangeable.
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