Priest and Doctor of the Church · Feast day September 30
St. Jerome
The feast day of St. Jerome is September 30, a memorial in the US Catholic calendar. Traditionally invoked as patron of Scripture scholars and librarians. Below: a short life and 3 sourced quotations in their own words.
| Feast day | September 30 |
|---|---|
| In the US calendar | Memorial |
| Title | Priest and Doctor of the Church |
| Died | c. 420 |
| Patron of | Scripture scholars, librarians |
| In their own words | 3 sourced quotations · 1 attributed saying (source unconfirmed) |
| Next on Bless’s Today screen | None left in the published calendar (through December 31, 2028) |
Life
The greatest biblical scholar of the early Church, secretary to a pope, and a hermit of legendary temper. He left Rome for a cave at Bethlehem and spent his last thirty-four years there translating the Old Testament from the Hebrew — the heart of the Vulgate.
‘Ignorance of Scripture,’ he wrote, ‘is ignorance of Christ.’ He remains the patron of all who labor over the sacred text.
Patron of
Tradition invokes St. Jerome as patron of Scripture scholars and librarians.
Patronages are traditional, not an official list. All patron saints in Bless, A to Z.
In their own words
Each quotation names the work it comes from. Bless quotes these in the comments beside the verses listed under In Scripture.
Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.
Read often and learn as much as you can. Let sleep find you holding your Bible, and when your head nods let it be resting on the sacred page.
Let your actions never belie your words.
Attributed, source unconfirmed
These sayings circulate under the saint’s name, but no source has been confirmed. Bless shows them with that label.
The Scriptures are shallow enough for a lamb to wade in and deep enough for an elephant to swim.
In Scripture
In Bless, St. Jerome’s words appear in the comments beside these verses. This page’s labels say how each is linked: “on this verse” means the saint wrote about that very verse; “on this theme” means the quotation shares its theme. Scripture is quoted from the Catholic Public Domain Version.
On this verse
Study the Scriptures. For you think that in them you have eternal life. And yet they also offer testimony about me.
John 5:39 · CPDV Beside their words: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
On this theme
The book of this law shall not depart from your mouth. Instead, you shall meditate upon it, day and night, so that you may observe and do all the things that are written in it. Then you shall direct your way and understand it.
Joshua 1:8 · CPDV Beside their words: “Read often and learn as much as you can. Let sleep find you holding your Bible, and when…”
On this theme
But his will is with the law of the Lord, and he will meditate on his law, day and night.
Psalm 1:2 · CPDV Beside their words: “Read often and learn as much as you can. Let sleep find you holding your Bible, and when…”
On this theme · source unconfirmed
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths.
Psalm 118:105 · CPDV Beside their words: “The Scriptures are shallow enough for a lamb to wade in and deep enough for an elephant…”
On this theme
And beginning from Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them, in all the Scriptures, the things that were about him.
Luke 24:27 · CPDV Beside their words: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
On this theme · source unconfirmed
Oh, the depths of the richness of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable are his ways!
Romans 11:33 · CPDV Beside their words: “The Scriptures are shallow enough for a lamb to wade in and deep enough for an elephant…”
On this theme
So be doers of the Word, and not listeners only, deceiving yourselves.
James 1:22 · CPDV Beside their words: “Let your actions never belie your words.”
On this theme
My little sons, let us not love in words only, but in works and in truth.
1 John 3:18 · CPDV Beside their words: “Let your actions never belie your words.”
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Jerome. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Jerome keeps September 30 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of September.
All the saints of September Born on September 30? A saint for every day
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