Feast of Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom

Feast of Blessed Eusebius of Esztergom
20th January 2022

The founding father of the Pauline Order

Eusebius founded the first Hungarian order in 1250 which later became the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit.

He and his companion hermits erected their first monastery in honour of the Holy Cross. In the 1256 National Council of Esztergom, Eusebius wrote his name as the First Provincial of the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit. In 1262 he went to Rome with his companions to meet Pope Urban IV to ask him for approval for founding his own order. He had the support of Thomas Aquinas and Stephen I Báncsa. The Pope first refused to give Eusebius his permission because of financial conditions and asked Paul Balog, the Bishop of Veszprém to examine the monasteries.

Papal legate Cardinal Gentilis de Monte Florido gave the order the Rule of St Augustine, and it received approval with the decree ‘Qui saecularia’, issued in Buda on 13 December 1308.

During Eusebius’ life, there were 16 monasteries of his order. Later this number reached 150. Eusebius served for 20 years as provincial. As he felt that his death is near, he gathered his companions around him, blessed them and calmly died on the 20 January 1270.