St. Jerome

St. Jerome

Before he was known as St. Jerome, he was named Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus. He was born around 342 AD, in Dalmatia (modern day Croatia or Slovenia). His well-to-do parents saw to it that his was educated in Latin and Greek. Despite their efforts to raise Jerome properly, he behaved as he chose. Around the age of 12 Jerome traveled to Rome to study grammar, philosophy and rhetoric. By his own admission, he quickly forgot his morals, pursuing pleasure—women in particular. To assuage his feelings of guilt, Jerome would visit the crypts in Rome and imagine himself in hell, even though he was not yet a Christian. Jerome succeeded in frightening himself, but not in changing his ways.
 
Fortunately, his friend, Bonosus, persuaded Jerome to become a Christian and in 366, he  was baptized by Pope Liberius. He set aside secular matters to pursue matters of the faith, travelling to Trier for ecclesiastical training, and finally ended up in a monastery where he developed skills as a translator and began to build a personal library. As his devotion deepened, he went into the desert near Antioch, to live as a hermit for four years. He was soon ordained a priest at the urging of the Pope and pursued greater studies in theology.  
 
Eventually, Pope Damasus appointed Jerome his secretary. In Rome, he promoted the ideal of austerity and penance to everyone including a group of women who wanted to live holy lives. However, he was often criticized and was the focus of rumors. Moreover, his sarcasm and wit made him unpopular. He was described as “prickly and unpleasant.” Eventually, Jerome went to the Holy Land to escape the calumny in Rome. In Bethlehem he established a monastery.
Jerome is best known for his translation of the Bible. Jerome began this work while he was still in Rome under Pope Damasus. He spent his entire life translating the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into the Latin vernacular.

St. Jerome's feast is celebrated on Wednesday, Sept 30.