π Life Timeline
Unknown
Born in 347 AD, Stridon (Balkans)
420 AD
Died β September 30, 420 AD, Bethlehem
Pre-
Canonized β Pre-Tridentine
β Biography
JEROME (St) C. Dr. R.M. Sept. 30 c.342-420. Eusebius Hieronymus So-
phronius was born at Stridonium in Dal- matia. He studied in Rome, particularly the classics for which he developed a life- long passion. He then travelled exten- sively in Italy and Gaul, lived as a hermit in Palestine, returned to Rome, where, after his ordination to the priesthood, he joined the Roman clergy and acted as secretary to the pope, and finally, having come to be on bad terms with those who
THE BOOK
surrounded him, went back to Palestine and settled at Bethlehem. He spent the rest of his life translating, and com- menting, the Bible, and became the most learned biblical scholar of his day. He himself was the first to appreciate this fact and was apt to resent any opposition to his way of thinking. However, he ac- knowledged his own shortcomings, par- ticularly his shortness of temper, with a rather tempestuous but virile humility. His place as an exponent of Catholic dogma is still the highest ever alloted to a biblical scholar. He died at Bethlehem and is officially venerated as a Doctor of the Church.
Cf. Att. β Holw. β Baud.
JEROME HERMOSILLA (BI) M. O.P. A.C. Nov. 1 d. 1861. A native of La Calzada, in Old Castile, who after his profession in the Dominican Order, was sent to Manila, where
π‘ Patronage
Patron of: Biblical scholars, theologians, librarians, encyclopedists, and translators. Doctor of the Church.
π¬ Words of the Saint
Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.
π Key Facts
Born
347 AD, Stridon (Balkans)
Died
September 30, 420 AD, Bethlehem
Feast Day
Sep 30
Canonized
Pre-Tridentine
π Legacy
The Vulgate was the standard Bible of the Western Church until the 20th century. Jerome's commentary on Scripture shaped biblical interpretation for a millennium. His life in Bethlehem is one of the best-documented of the early Church.
π Personal Writings
Read excerpts from the saint's own words β their personal letters, spiritual writings, and teachings.
π Letters
On the Study of Scripture
Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. Let us read the Holy Books every day, and let us not be satisfied with reading them once only, but let us read them often, and let us not read them in a careless manner, but with attention and devotion.
β St. Jerome
π Letters
On the Virgin Life
The virgin who has consecrated herself to God is a living temple of the Holy Spirit. She is a bride of Christ, a daughter of God, a sister of the angels. She is a flower of paradise, a lily among thorns, a star in the heavens.
β St. Jerome