Roman Catholic Saint. Original name Eusebius Hieronymous Sophronius. He was born in the city of Stridon, between the borders of Dalmatia and Pannonia (most probably in modern-day Bosnia-Herzegovina), in the year 347. Although his parents were Christians, Jerome himself did not get baptized until about the year 360, when he was studying rhetoric, philosophy, grammar, and the Greek language in Rome. After studying in Rome for a few years, he and his friend Bonosus, a bishop, went to Gaul, where Jerome took up residence in the city of Trier in what is today Germany. In Trier, it is believed he began studying theology. He also began making copies of books while in Trier. Following his stay in Trier, he traveled to the Italian city of Aquileia, where he stayed anywhere from several months to several years. In about the year 373, he traveled through Thrace, Asia Minor, and Syria with several of his friends from Aquileia. It was said that while in Syria, he pulled a thorn from the paw of a lion who loyally stayed by his side in gratitude for years. During these travels, Jerome's party sojourned in Antioch for the longest period of time; it was during this portion of their journey that two of his friends died and he became quite ill several times. During one of these illnesses, Jerome had a vision which inspired him to devote himself to the study of the Bible and all things religious in favor of his former secular studies. He went to the city of Chalcis on the Greek island of Euboea to start a life as an ascetic, drawn by its large population of religious ascetics. While in Chalcis, he continued to study and write, and began to study the Hebrew language. He returned to Antioch in either 378 or 379 and was ordained, something he agreed to only on the condition that he be allowed to continue an ascetic lifestyle. Shortly after being ordained he went to Constantinople to study the Bible. These studies lasted for two years. He was invited to Rome in 382 for the synod which was convened to end the schism in Antioch, and assumed an important place in the proceedings. During his three years in Rome, he also undertook the work of translating the Bible into Latin. At the time it was considered revolutionary that he chose to base the Old Testament part of his translation on the Hebrew scriptures instead of the Greek Septuagint, something which had never been done before. This Latin translation of the Bible became known as the Vulgate. However, after his patron Pope Damasus I died in late 384, Jerome was forced to flee Rome amidst growing hostility from the clergy and their own patrons, angry at his frequent criticisms of them and at how he had influenced several women from noble families to turn to an ascetic lifestyle. There was also an inquisition into whether he'd had an improper relationship with one of these women, Paula, the widow of a senator. Jerome arrived back in Antioch in August of 385, along with his brother Paulinus and a few of his friends. The widow Paula and her daughter Eustochium joined them some time later. That winter Jerome went with them, as their spiritual adviser, and his brother on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After completing their pilgrimage, they traveled to Egypt. In 388, Jerome returned to Palestine, settling near Bethlehem, where he lived the remainder of his life. In addition to serving as the priest and teacher to his devoted group of followers, he also amassed a large collection of books, translated, and wrote. Among his many writings from this period, which are widely considered his most important works, were a catalogue of Christian authors, commentaries on the Bible, histories, epistles on numerous and diverse subjects, biographies, and a dialogue against Pelagianism, which was considered a heresy by numerous Christian authorities. Even some of his opponents praised him for his polemical writings against them, considering them literary perfection. Due to his anti-Pelagian writings, however, in 416 Jerome was forced to flee to a nearby fortress after a group of Pelagians stormed his monastic buildings, killed a deacon, attacked the residents, and set the buildings on fire. Four years later, on September 30, 420 he died near Bethlehem. Considered one of the most important Fathers of the Church, Jerome is the patron saint of writers, librarians, Biblical scholars, archaeologists, archivists, translators, libraries, schoolchildren, and students, and remains a popular patron saint among writers.