St. Paul the First Hermit, also known as Paul of Thebes, was an Egyptian hermit and friend of St. Jerome. He was born in Lower Thebaid, Egypt, at the age of fifteen and hid during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Traj anus Decius. At the age of twenty-two, he went to the desert to circumvent a planned effort by his brother in law to report him to authorities as a Christian and thereby gain control of his property. Paul soon found that the eremitical life was much to his personal taste, and so he remained in a desert cave for the rest of his reportedly very long life.0 He died at the reputed age of 113 and is considered the first Christian hermit by St. Jerome.1 He is also the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Pablo and titular of the Cathedral of the said Diocese in San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines. The Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit was founded in Hungary in his honour in the 13th century.
The Ostende Blog - Fr Christopher Young 