Born Francis Nager on October 8, 1907 in Wheeling, West Virginia his parents were Anthony Nager and Anna Raynor. At twelve years old he heard Father Stephen Sweeney, C.P. at a parish mission. Later, Francis Nager went to Dunkirk, New York. He went to novitiate in West Springfield, Massachusetts and professed his vows on August 15, 1928 with the name of Paul. He was ordained on April 28, 1934.
Asceticism governed the young seminarian and priest. He loved the thought of St. Paul of the Cross, St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. Father Nager served as a Novice Master in the United States and Germany, a General Consultor in Rome where he directed the university students at Sts. John and Paul. He possessed a degree of Canon Law from the Angelicum. He died on October 1, 1983 and he was buried in Schwarzenfeld, Germany.