Doctor
of the Church
b.347 d. 419
Feastday: September 30
Patron of Librarians
St. Jerome was
baptized when he was 18 by Pope Liberius. An ambitious and hard worker, St. Jerome began
building a library that became one of the most famous in the world, copying most of the
books himself. He continued this practice white living as a hermit, learning several
languages in order to translate the works. His nights were spent writing letters and
suffering the usual austerities of Living in the desert. In only a few years, he left
after growing tired of the laxity of the other hermits. While living in Rome as a
secretary to Pope Damasus, and under his direction, St. Jerome completed copying the New
Testament into Latin. He was only 40 years old at the time. He then continued with the Old
Testament, having the assistance of several learned companions. During his life he made
numerous enemies because of his fierce attacks on pagan Life, his denouncement of several
heresies, and his sometimes-abrupt demeanor. On the death of Pope Damasus, who was his
supporter and protector, he decided to return to the East, and eventually settled in
Bethlehem with a small community he had formed. St. Jerome died in Bethlehem, with his
head resting in the manger where Our Lord was born.
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