Name: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus [Jerome]
Born: c. 342AD; Stridon, Dalmatia   
Died: 30 September 420AD; Bethlehem (Palestina)
Feast Day: 30^th September
Patron Saint of: Biblical scholars; librarians; archaeologists

‘Jerome’ is the anglicised form of the Latin, ‘Hieronymus’.

Jerome was raised in a wealthy Christian home which afforded him the opportunity to go to Rome where he received an excellent classical education. He mastered the study of Latin and Greek, and developed a taste for the high prose of Cicero, Suetonius and the other great writers of antiquity. In his somewhat wayward youth, he drifted from the practice of Christian piety, becoming caught up with vain and worldly concerns. Some time in his early twenties, Jerome was finally baptised (infant baptism was not yet the universally established custom). He undertook further studies in the city of Trier (in modern-day Germany) and it was here that he had a deep conversion. Moved by an increasingly ascetical spirit Jerome travelled to the ancient Christian city of Antioch. While there, two close friends with whom he had travelled were struck down with sickness and died. Jerome was also gravely ill and whilst in a delirious state experienced a vision. He seemed to find himself before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ and being asked who he was Jerome replied that he was a Christian. Christ retorted with the accusation: “No, you are not a Christian, you are a Ciceronian – for where your treasure is there is your heart also!” After having recovered from his sickness, Jerome was left with the conviction that his love of literary works had blinded him from any serious study of the scriptures. He withdrew to the wilderness of Chalcis (in Northern Syria) and lived a hermitic, penitential life studying the scriptures. It was from this time that there arose the legend of the lion (who is often depicted with St Jerome in art) who befriended Jerome after he had the kindness to remove a thorn from the lion’s paw. Later when Jerome visited a nearby monastery the monks were terrified to find the holy man being accompanied by a wild lion!

Returning to Antioch Jerome was ordained a priest largely at the insistence of the bishop of Antioch who could recognise Jerome’s gifts. Jerome accepted on the understanding that he would apply himself to the study of Scripture rather than regular pastoral ministry. Jerome had by this point acquired a fame that put him in correspondence with many of the leading theologians of his day (including St Augustine) and also embroiled him in many of the controversies of his time (such as his bitter renunciation of the brilliant but theologically suspect Origen). He studied under St Gregory of Nazianzus in Constantinople and for a period was employed as the papal secretary to Pope St Damasus. It was during this time in Rome that his reputation soured. Jerome was always inclined to be irascible by nature. Although a man of evangelical simplicity and moral integrity, he was not afraid to speak unflattering truths, and could be biting with his sarcastic wit. He wounded the pride of not a few of Rome’s upper-crust and in doing so made himself subject to malicious gossip and criticism. Following the death of Pope Damasus, Jerome retreated back to the Holy Land where he established a monastery for men in Bethlehem, near the basilica of the Nativity. (Interesting fact: the Basilica of the Nativity is the oldest continuously-functioning Christian Church in the world, in use even in the time of St Jerome. To this day you can visit St Jerome’s cave – a series of cells adjoining the Church of the Nativity).

Jerome continued to find himself embroiled in numerous theological controversies, since he felt compelled to vociferously oppose theological error and heresy where he saw it.  He denounced Helvedius who falsely claimed that Mary had other children after Jesus. Jerome responded with a lengthy tract defending the long-established dogma of the perpetual virginity of Mary. Another heretic priest, Vigilantius, who attacked the custom of priestly celibacy and the veneration of relics soon found himself being schooled by Jerome. If his tone was frequently caustic it was because Jerome understood that much was at stake concerning the authentic Christian teaching, which must be preserved free of error for the sake of future generations. St Jerome’s commentaries on scripture are voluminous, yet his greatest achievement was his painstaking translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate) which has served as the standard Latin translation of the Bible for the Western (Latin) Rite to this day. Traditionally Jerome is honoured as one of the four great doctors of the Church (together with Augustine, Ambrose and Gregory the Great) and the only one who was not a bishop. Because of this, during the Renaissance the custom arose of depicting Jerome with a cardinal’s hats or wearing the red as a ‘consolation prize’ – even though this is an entirely anachronistic fiction. It is note-worthy just how popular St Jerome has been as a subject of Western art, an indicator of his long-standing influence in Western culture.

Among the most oft-quoted lines from St Jerome is his pithy aphorism, Ignorantia scripturae, ignorantia Christi: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Whatever value we may find in theological or devotional books, none can compare to the weight of Sacred Scripture as a means of coming to know Christ and His teachings. Scripture demands our continual study and reflection. The Second Vatican Council taught in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Dei Verbum:

“Sacred theology rests on the written word of God, together with sacred tradition, as its primary and perpetual foundation. By scrutinizing in the light of faith all truth stored up in the mystery of Christ, theology is most powerfully strengthened and constantly rejuvenated by that word. For the Sacred Scriptures contain the word of God and since they are inspired, really are the word of God; and so the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology.” (Par. 24)

Many people today could count the number of hours they spend watching various forms of entertainment (TV, Netflix, movies, social media) each week in double digits. How much time do we give each week to reading the Word of God? People can feel daunted reading the Bible from cover to cover. Yet, the Bible is not one book but a collection of many books (Biblia = ‘books’) so it is entirely acceptable to read the Bible in a more piecemeal fashion, as we do in the Liturgy of the Word at Mass. Fr Mike Schmitz’s “Bible in a Year” podcast is one of many recent representations of scripture aimed at making the Bible accessible to the public, just as Jerome did by translating the Bible into the ‘vulgate’ (the ‘common tongue’) 1600 years ago. If it has been a while since you’ve dusted off your Bible maybe you might be inspired by St Jerome to rekindle your love for God’s inspired and living Word.

St Jerome, pray for us!