St. Jerome (or
St. Hieronymus) with Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory is one of the
four Latin Doctors of the Church. Born in Dalmatia around A.D. 340, he came
to Rome to learn Greek and Latin, there he was baptized and traveled to
Holy Land. He retired to the Syrian Desert for 3 years. Returning to Rome
in 382, he got acquainted with Pope Damasus, who persuaded him to make Latin
translations of Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Jerome dedicated the rest
of his life to this substantial task, first in Rome, then in Palestine.
He finished his translation after years of colossal work and died in Bethlehem
in 420. His translation has been revised and supplemented more than once,
but is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as the official version of
the Bible.
The legend embellished Jerome’s life as a hermit and scholar; the fantastic
are included, such as the temptation, to which he was subjected in the desert,
his visions, and his lion, which he had tamed by removing a thorn from its
paw. In fine arts he is depicted with Bible, accompanied by a lion. |
