Little is known about the historical figure of Liborius (4th/5th century). According to medieval legends, he was bishop of the Gallo-Roman civitas Le Mans for 47 years and was a friend of the bishop (and saint) Martin of Tours. Under Emperor Ludwig the Pious, the bones of Liborius, who was venerated as a saint early on in Le Mans, came to the episcopal city of Paderborn as part of the then customary translation of relics from [West] Franconian churches and monasteries to Saxony. A Paderborn anonymous, probably a cleric of the cathedral chapter, reports at the end of the 9th century on the translation of Liborius, the "bridge builder of Europe", to his hometown. The translational account, written under Bishop Biso (887-909) of Paderborn, details how a group of Paderborn clergymen came to Le Mans and obtained relics from the local Bishop Aldrich (the left arm of Liborius remained in Le Mans and is missing). The latter were taken via Chartres and Paris across the Rhine to Saxony and reached Paderborn on May 28, 836, Pentecost Sunday, “with great participation from the people”. There the relics of Bishop Badurad (815-862) were housed in the cathedral. According to legend, when St. Liborius a peacock as a signpost to have progressed to the episcopal city.
In the following centuries of the Middle Ages, the cult of the saint of Liborius spread, especially from Paderborn. The said translation report and Liborius' role as patron of Paderborn Cathedral indicate that the episcopal city was the center of Liborius worship in Germany from an early date. The Westphalian area was thus early on covered by the Liborius cult; we also find the saint in the 11th century in the Bavarian monastery of Tegernsee or in Quedlinburg. The Netherlands, Lower Saxony, Thuringia and the Lower Rhine follow from the 12th century if we consider the Liborius entries in memorial calendars and necrology. In the late Middle Ages, Liborius became the helper against bodily distress and especially for stone and kidney patients. It was said of Mainz Archbishop Werner von Eppstein († 1284) that he was healed of his stone disease at the saint's grave. Small stones on an open book, along with bishop's regalia and a peacock, became Liborius' attribute of saints.
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation also brought about a certain change within the Catholic Church and in the Catholic Paderborn towards a more moderate veneration of saints in general and in the cult of Liborius in particular.
The oldest proven town friendship in the world came about through the transfer of relics from Le Mans to Paderborn. Even today, the Libori festival is celebrated every year to commemorate the translation in Paderborn, during which the shrine with the Liborius relics is carried across the cathedral square and through the inner city area.