Saint Jerome

Life story

Jerome was born around 342 at Stridon, a town on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia whose exact site is unknown. He studied grammar and rhetoric in Rome, was baptised there, and then travelled to Trier and Aquileia. Around 375 he spent a period as a hermit in the desert of Chalcis east of Antioch, where he learned Hebrew.

In 382 he arrived in Rome and assisted Pope Damasus with correspondence, and was asked to revise the Latin texts of the Gospels. After the pope's death he left Rome and settled at Bethlehem from 386, founding a monastery for men and, with Paula, helping to found one for women.

There he devoted most of his time to scholarship: translating the Old Testament from Hebrew, and writing many biblical commentaries and letters. His Latin translation, later called the Vulgate, became the standard Bible of the Western Church for centuries. He had a fiery temper and his controversies could be very sharp.

He died at Bethlehem on 30 September 420. The Church honours him as a Doctor of the Church, one of the first four Latin Doctors. More than a hundred of his letters survive, written to friends, to the women who studied Scripture under him in Rome and Bethlehem, and to his opponents. They are a valuable source for the intellectual and religious life of the late fourth century. His tomb is traditionally associated with Bethlehem, though his relics were later claimed by churches in Rome.

Works and witness

• Studied in Rome and lived as a hermit in Chalcis, where he learned Hebrew
• Assisted Pope Damasus in Rome and revised the Latin Gospels
• Settled at Bethlehem in 386 and founded a monastery
• Translated the Bible into Latin, known as the Vulgate

Patron of

Translators, Librarians, Scholars

Saints from the same country

Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Mark, Saint Luke

References

• Jerome, De viris illustribus
• Jerome, Letters
• Martyrologium Romanum

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.