Paschasius was abandoned as an infant at the convent of Notre Dame at Soissons, France, at the beginning of the 9th century. He was adopted by the nuns and sent to the monks of St. Peter’s, Soissons, for his education.Interested in the Latin classics, Paschasius spent a few years in the world before becoming a monk at Corbie, where he excelled in sacred studies. In 822, he was sent to found New Corbie in Westphalia and brought fame to the Corbie schools. He served as Master of Novices and later as Abbot for seven years, although he never became a priest.
For some years the Saint retired to the Abbey of Saint-Riquier and ended his life at Corbie about 865. Among his prolific works are commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Lamentations, the forty-fourth Psalm, biographies of St. Adalhard of Corbie and his brother Wala, and what is regarded as the first scientific monograph on the Holy Eucharist.
PRAYER: Lord, amid the things of this world, let us be wholeheartedly committed to heavenly things in imitation of the example of evangelical perfection You have given us in St. Paschasius the Abbot. Amen.