SAINT JEROME
Saint Jerome By Edward Matulanya Here are Life, vocation, contribution to the church, Spiritual Character, Patronage and Iconography, and Liturgical Celebration of Saint Jerome. Life and Vocation Saint Jerome (c. 347 – 420 A.D.) was born in Stridon, a town at the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia (in modern Croatia/Slovenia). After classical studies in Rome, he was baptized around 366 and later lived as a monk and hermit in the Syrian desert before becoming a priest in Antioch (Butler, 1956/1998). Jerome eventually settled in Bethlehem, where he founded a monastery and dedicated his life to Scripture study and pastoral work (Franciscan Media, 2023). Contribution to the Church Jerome’s greatest achievement is his translation of the Bible into Latin, known as the Vulgate. Commissioned by Pope Damasus I around 382, the Vulgate became the standard biblical text of the Western Church for over a millennium (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 1997, §125). He also prod...