The Pope’s right hand man

He converted as a young man, was ordained, and quickly made a name for himself: eventually becoming secretary to the Pope himself.

But when the Pope died, he quickly realized that the corridors of power were not a good place for him to stay.

He retreated to the Holy Land and became a hermit: living many years in a cave, praying, reflecting on life and death, and making a new translation of the Scriptures.

The writings of this hermit would be widely read and his translation of the Bible would be the overwhelming favorite of Christendom for more than a thousand years.

Saint Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible and one of the great Church Fathers, died on this very day in the year 420.