St Paulinus the Merciful, Bishop of Nola (+431)

Saint Paulinus the Merciful, Bishop of Nola, was the son of a rich and noble family living in the city of Bordeaux (France). Thanks to his remarkable learning, at twenty the young man was elected a senator of Rome, then consul, and at last he also became governor of the region of Campania (Italy). Paulinus was twenty-five when he and his wife were converted to Christianity. After this he changed his way of life completely: he sold his estate and distributed the proceeds to the poor, for which he earned the reproaches and hatred of his friends and servants. The childless couple took in destitute orphans and brought them up in the fear of God. Then Paulinus, seeking a solitary life, went to the Spanish city of Barcelona. In 393 the ascetic, famous for his ascetic life, was ordained priest. Soon he left Spain and set out for the Italian city of Nola, where he was chosen bishop.

Once the Vandals attacked Italy and carried many of its inhabitants off captive to Africa. Paulinus spent all the property of the church on ransoming them. When the saint could not find the means to ransom a widow’s son, he himself went into captivity in his place and took on the service of the Vandal prince. Soon the secret came out and the holy hierarch was set free. Through his intercession other prisoners too gained their freedom.

Filled with love for his neighbour, the Venerable Paulinus helped those in need unstintingly, built churches and wrote hymnographic works. The saint died on 22 June 431, at the age of seventy-eight. His holy relics rest in Rome, in the church of the holy Apostle Bartholomew.