Paula of Rome

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Paula with her daughter Eustochium in conversation with St. Hieronymus (oil painting, 17th century)

Paula of Rome (born May 5, 347 in Rome , † January 26, 404 in Bethlehem ) was a Roman Christian , widow and saint of the Catholic Church . She is best known for her friendship with the church father Hieronymus . The feast day of St. Paula in the liturgy is January 26th. Her daughters, Blaesilla and the consecrated Virgin Eustochium , are also venerated as sacred .

Life

Paula came from a Roman patrician family . When she was around fifteen she was married to Toxotius, a Roman from an influential family. The couple had five children - Blaesilla , Paulina, Eustochium , Rufina and Toxotius - whose lives we are well informed about from Jerome's letters. 379/380 Toxotius died. Paula then chose the widow class , which was highly regarded in the old church .

In 382, ​​the bishops Epiphanius of Salamis and Paulinus of Antioch were in Rome for a synod . Epiphanius lived with Paula. The encounter with the two Greek church leaders and especially with the Latin Hieronymus, who accompanied Paulinus - he had gone to the Greek East and was ordained a priest in Antioch - deeply impressed Paula and awakened in her the longing for the hermitage in the desert and the Holy Land .

In the following years Jerome , who had remained in Rome , gathered around him a circle of wealthy pious virgins and widows who wanted to realize the ascetic ideal, including the widows Lea, Marcella and Paula with their daughters Blaesilla and Eustochium . They immersed themselves in scripture study and Paula learned Hebrew .

Jerome got into conflict within the church. Among other things, he was accused of the early death of the young Blaesilla. When he therefore left Rome in 385, Paula and Eustochium accompanied him. Together they made a pilgrimage to the biblical sites of Egypt and Palestine, where monastic communities had settled. In 386 they settled in Bethlehem and, from Paula's fortune, founded a monastery for men, three houses for virgins and widows and a pilgrims' hospice.

In his obituary, Hieronymus praises Paula's selflessness, her ascetic way of life, her prayer life and the care for the poor and sick, for whom she used her wealth. By the time she died in Bethlehem, her holy reputation had reached such an extent that several bishops took part in her exequies , including Patriarch John of Jerusalem, with whom there had previously been a dispute over questions of leadership and Origenism .

The graves of Paul, Jerome and Eustochium are under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Her remains were transferred to the Roman basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in the 15th century .

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personal data
SURNAME Paula of Rome
ALTERNATIVE NAMES St. Paula, Paula Romana
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman Christian, ascetic, saint
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 347
PLACE OF BIRTH Rome
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 404
Place of death Bethlehem