he was educated at the benedictine niederaltaich abbey, and was made bishop in 971. to him are attributed some, if not all, of the "forgeries of lorch". these are a series of documents, especially papal bulls of pope symmachus, pope eugene ii, pope leo vii, and pope agapetus ii, fabricated to prove that passau was a continuation of a former archdiocese of lorch. by these he attempted to obtain from benedict vi the elevation of passau to an archdiocese, the re-erection of those dioceses in pannonia and mœsia which had been suffragans of lorch, and the pallium for himself. there is extant an alleged bull of benedict vi granting piligrim's demands; but this is also the work of piligrim, possibly a document drawn up for the papal signature, which it never received.