Background
He continued his studies for the priesthood. He became a teacher in 1617 and was ordained as a priest on 29 March 1625. He became the pastor to an area split between Protestants and Catholics. He attempted to reconcile both as best as he could but the divisions ran far too deep for him to do this.
Wagner was driven from his parish to another town during a time of conflict in Central Europe. He fled from the invading forces five kilometers away to Reichmannshausen where he hid in the local schoolhouse. Protestant soldiers tracked him down and he was taken to the nearby Mainberg castle. The soldiers tried to force him to renounce his Catholic faith. Wagner refused. After five days of torture, he died on 9 December 1631. He was shot and his corpse stripped and his body was thrown into the nearby Main River. His corpse was recovered sometime later. He was buried and then exhumed and later transferred for the final time on 15 December 1637.