Paula | |
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![]() Saint Paula (or An Abbess). Painting of Juan de Valdés Leal (1622–1690) in Musée de Tessé, Le Mans, France. | |
Patroness of the Order of Saint Jerome | |
Born | AD 347 Rome, Italia, Roman Empire |
Died | 26 January 404 Bethlehem, Palaestina Prima, Eastern Roman Empire |
Venerated in | |
Feast | |
Attributes | Depicted as a Hieronymite abbess with a book; depicted as a pilgrim, often with Jerome and Eustochium; depicted prostrate before the cave at Bethlehem; depicted embarking in a ship, while a child calls from the shore; weeping over her children; with the instruments of the Passion; holding a scroll with Saint Jerome's epistle Cogite me Paula; with a book and a black veil fringed with gold; or with a sponge in her hand.[4] |
Patronage |
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Influences | Saint Jerome, Saint Marcella |
Influenced | Saint Jerome, Saint Blaesilla, Saint Eustochium |
Tradition or genre | Desert Mothers |
Paula of Rome (AD 347–404)[5] was an ancient Roman Christian saint and early Desert Mother. A member of one of the richest senatorial families which claimed descent from Agamemnon,[6] Paula was the daughter of Blesilla and Rogatus, from the great clan of the Furii Camilli.[7] At the age of 16,[8][2] Paula was married to the nobleman Toxotius, with whom she had four daughters, Blaesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, and Rufina. She also had a boy, also named Toxotius. As a disciple of Jerome, she is considered the first nun in the history of Christianity.