Saint Paula

Our Venerable Mother Paula was born on May 5, 347, and was the daughter of Rogatus and Blessilla, who belonged to the nobility. Her father was a Greek, and her mother was descended from two of the most illustrious families of Rome – the Gracchi, and the Scipios. She married a wealthy man by the name of Toxotius and bore him six children: Blesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, Julia, Rufina, and a son who was named for his father.

The elder Toxotius died when Saint Paula was thirty-three years old, and she almost died of grief. As time passed, she realized the vanity of all earthly things and submitted herself to God’s will. Gradually she accustomed herself to plain food and inexpensive clothing. She would not sit down at the table with any man, not even with the bishops whom she hosted in her home, and whose advice she sought. While her husband was alive she strove to please him, but after his death she devoted herself to serving God.

She became a friend of Saint Marcella (January 31), another widow who had organized a sort of religious sisterhood at her home on Rome’s Aventine Hill. This group of Roman ladies, who were drawn to a life of study and asceticism, was led by Saint Jerome (September 30), that priest and biblical scholar who is renowned for his Latin translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. Saint Jerome left for the Holy Land in 385, and Saint Paula decided to follow him. All her children were nearly grown, and she was weary of Rome's business concerns and social life. Her unmarried daughter Eustochium accompanied her, for she also longed to see the Holy Land, and desired to consecrate her virginity to Christ. They arrived at Jerusalem and visited the holy sites, praying before the True Cross, walking the Via Dolorosa, and venerating the Life-giving tomb of Christ.

The holy women then traveled to Bethlehem, where the Lord was born of the Virgin Mary. Saint Jerome had settled in that vicinity, so she bought a small house where she could be near her teacher and Spiritual Father. Her wealth enabled her to establish a hospital for pilgrims, a monastery for Saint Jerome and his monks, three women’s monasteries, and a church large enough to accommodate the nuns from all three convents.

Saint Paula governed the affairs of her monastery in an efficient and loving manner. Despite her wealth and noble birth, she never refused to perform the most menial tasks. Thus she led others by her own example, indicating to them the path of humility which they should follow.

Since she had learned Greek from her father, Saint Paula decided to learn Hebrew so she could chant the Psalms in their original language. The entire Psalter was sung each day during Church Services, and every nun was required to learn it by heart. The sisters also performed manual labor, making clothing for themselves and for the poor.

Saint Paula reposed the age of fifty-six. Five years of her widowhood were spent at Rome, and almost twenty years at Bethlehem. In her last illness she repeated the Psalms almost incessantly, and the praises of God were ever on her lips. When she was no longer able to speak, she made the Sign of the Cross on her lips, and fell asleep in the Lord on January 26, 404. Two days later her body was carried in procession by certain bishops, and others held with lighted torches and tapers, and she was buried in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Her tomb is still shown in that place, near that of Saint Jerome, but it is empty.

Saint Jerome composed a Latin epitaph in verse, which was engraved on her tomb, but it has been eradicated. The verse may be found the end of a letter (Epistle 86) which he addressed to her daughter.

By her holy prayers, may we also be made worthy of the heavenly Kingdom.