Day 10 – Saint Jerome (347–420

Saint Jerome was born in Stridon, on the edge of the Roman Empire, into a world of shifting borders and fading stability. Gifted with a sharp mind and a fiery temper, he devoted himself to study from a young age. Drawn to the faith, he was baptized in Rome and soon committed his life to serving Christ. Yet Jerome’s path was not one of ease — he often wrestled with pride, controversy, and his own sharp tongue. Still, his love for Scripture marked everything he did.

Jerome is best remembered for his work of translation. At a time when Greek and Hebrew were the languages of scholars, but the ordinary people of the West spoke Latin, he devoted himself to producing a fresh translation of the entire Bible. Working for decades, often in solitude in Bethlehem, he gave the church the Latin Vulgate, a version that shaped Western Christianity for a thousand years. He once wrote, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ,” a line that still challenges us to ground our faith in the Word of God.

Though his life was marked by conflict — he often quarreled with fellow Christians — Jerome’s devotion to Scripture remains his lasting gift. He poured his intellect into service, ensuring that God’s Word could be read and heard by ordinary believers.

For us today, Saint Jerome’s life reminds us that our flaws and weaknesses do not disqualify us from being used by God. Even with his fiery spirit and restless energy, God used him to bless generations of the faithful. His legacy calls us to open the Scriptures, to read them with care, and to let them shape us into Christ’s likeness.