PAUL, bishop of LÉON, saint. — He was born at Penhoen (Brittany) about 487. From childhood he devoted himself to the study of Holy Scripture under the guidance of St. Istituto.
Desiring solitude, at sixteen he retired to a solitary place, living in prayer and penance. He then wandered to other places and successively went to the island of Ushant and near Ploudalmézeau, where he built a monastery. Appointed bishop of Léon by King Childeric, he worked greatly for the spiritual growth of the diocese. Later he resigned from pastoral governance and retired to the island of Batz, where he died almost a centenarian about 575. He is venerated in Brittany and among the Benedictines; his feast is on 12 March.
BIBL.: Acta SS. Martii. II, Paris 1865, pp. 107-119; E. Pkame, Vita s. Pauli, in Anal. Boll., 1 (1882), pp. 208-58.