Fifteen Fast Facts about St. Jerome
Today is the memorial of St. Jerome. Here are fifteen fast facts about him. 1. St. Jerome is a Father and Doctor of the Church. 2. He was a brilliant scholar, monk, traveller, teacher, letter writer, and consultant to Popes and Bishops. 3. St. Jerome was born in Dalmatia (near Aquileia, north of Rome) around 340 to a wealthy Christian family. 4. At the age of 20, St. Jerome was sent to study in Rome, where he became fluent in Latin and Greek and developed a love for the classical writers. 5. He he acquired many worldly ideas, made little effort to control his pleasure-loving instincts, and lost much of the piety that had been instilled in him at home. 6. St. Jerome travelled throughout western Europe with a friend but that ceased when he had a conversion experience in Trier and decided to become a monk. 7. He joined a monastic community in Aquileia in 370, where he met some who would become his close friends and others his enem...