Saint Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus), c.347-420, was a Father of the Church and Doctor of the Church, whose great work was the translation of the Bible into Latin, the edition known as the Vulgate. He was born at Stridon on the borders of Dalmatia and Pannonia (roughly modern Slovenia & Croatia) of a well-to-do Catholic family. His parents sent him to Rome to further his intellectual interests, and there he acquired a knowledge of classical literature and was baptized at the age of 19. Shortly thereafter he journeyed to Trier in Gaul and to Aquileia in Italy, where he began to cultivate his theological interests in company with others who, like himself, were ascetically inclined.

In about 373, Jerome set out on a pilgrimage to the East. In Antioch, where he was warmly received, he continued to pursue his humanist and monastic studies. He also had a profound spiritual experience, dreaming that he was accused by Christ of being “a Ciceronian, not a Christian.” Accordingly, he determined to devote himself exclusively to the Bible and theology, although the translator Rufinus (345-410), Jerome’s close friend, suggested later that the vow was not strictly kept. Jerome moved to the desert of Chalcis, and while practicing more rigorous austerities, pursued his studies, including the learning of Hebrew. On his return to Antioch in 378 he heard Apollinaris the Younger (c.310-c.390) lecture and was admitted to the priesthood (379) by Paulinus, bishop of Antioch. In Constantinople, where he spent three years around 380, he was influenced by Gregory of Nazianzus.

When Jerome returned to Rome Pope Damasus I appointed him confidential secretary and librarian and commissioned him to begin his work of rendering the Bible into Latin. After the death (384) of Damasus, however, Jerome fell out of favor, and for a second time he decided to go to the East. He made brief visits to Antioch, Egypt, and Palestine. In 386, Jerome settled at Bethlehem in a monastery established for him by Paula, one of a group of wealthy Roman women whose spiritual advisor he had been and who remained his lifelong friend. There he began his most productive literary period, and there he remained for 34 years, until his death. From this period come his major biblical commentaries and the bulk of his work on the Latin Bible.

The writings of Jerome express a scholarship unsurpassed in the early church and helped to create the cultural tradition of the Middle Ages. He developed the use of philological and geographical material in his exegesis and recognized the scientific importance of archaeology. In his interpretation of the Bible he used both the allegorical method of the Alexandrian and the realism of the Antiochene schools. An often difficult, empassioned and hot-tempered man, Jerome made many enemies, but his correspondence with friends and enemies alike is of great interest, particularly that with Saint Augustine.

His greatest gifts were in scholarship, and he is a true founder of scientific biblical exegesis in the West.  Jerome’s greatest single accomplishment was the Vulgate. The chaos of the older Latin translation was notorious. Working from the Hebrew OT and the Greek NT, Jerome, after twenty-three years of labor, gave Latin Christianity its Bible anew. Its supremacy was reaffirmed by the Council of Trent in 1546, and it remains to this day the classical Latin Bible. He is the patron Saint of Librarians, Libraries, Archeologists, Archivists, Bible Scholars, Schoolchildren, Students Translators, and the city of Quebec, Canada.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Just like, doing it, and trying to encourage others, to fellow Jesus in daily way of life,help spreading the good news about Jesus,in daily life, a lot of people said everyday life is boring for them, why can’t we make it interesting for someone that can’t do it for themselves, and they will come along, and start to live on their own daily life, before it’s too late for some.

  2. Please pray for me I am experiencing all sort of difficulties even with the website I use. The family also for unity and love, so far our need to get Nancy to agree to the sale of 63 Cranbrook PARK has been futile, she is determined it seems not to accept the terms o the agreement she made with our late son and it is causing us must distree. Pleas help us pray for
    this situation. Thank you.

    • Ecce Crucem Domini!
      Fugite partes adversae!
      Vicit Leo de tribu Juda,
      Radix David! Alleluia!

      Saints Jerome, Paul, John the Baptist, Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney, Louis-Marie de Montfort, Gemma Galgani, pray for us.

  3. O Lord, show Your mercy to me and gladden my heart. I am like the man on the way to Jericho who was overtaken by robbers, wounded and left for dead. O Good Samaritan, come to my aid. I am like the sheep that went astray. O Good Shepherd, seek me out and bring me home in accord with Your will. Let me dwell in Your house all the days of my life and praise You for ever and ever with those who are there. Amen.

  4. Saints Jerome, Paul, Augustine, pray for us. Especially for those named Paula and Paul. Let them accept the knowledge that God exists, tat we have all been born to know Him, love Him, serve Him, in this life and to be happy with Him in the next, as the old Baltimore Catechism highlights for all of the Faithful. So many have lost faith and hope, which renders charity vacuous. Thanks be to God for this holy wealthy woman named Paula, who provided Saint Jerome with safety and seclusion and time to create the Vulgate for the Latin Church. 23 of those 34 years spent in studious prayer, self-discipline, and accomplishment. Astonishing! Saint Jerome, restore Quebec City to the Canadian powerhouse of Catholicism it once was. Bring urgent permanent conversion of sinners and unbelievers through biblical and personal connections to Christ Crucified. Amen.

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