Born in Ireland; died in Germany, 1058. Paternus was probably born
in Ireland, but he travelled to Westphalia, and became one of the
first monks at the monastery of Abdinghof in Paderborn founded by
Saint Meinwerk (f.d. June 5).
Wishing for solitude, he moved to a
cell adjoining the abbey.
He predicted that the city would be razed by fire within 30 days if
the inhabitants did not turn from their sins, but he was mocked as
a visionary. On the Friday before Palm Sunday in 1058, fires broke
out simultaneously in seven parts of the city. The city and the
monastery were destroyed. The monks escaped, with the exception of
Paternus, who, refusing to break the vows of enclosure, remained in
his cell and was killed.
His death made a great impression on his contemporaries. The mat on
which he died became an important relic because it miraculously escaped
the flames
(
Benedictines,
Montague,
White).