Paula of Rome

Saint

Paula
Saint Paula of Rome
Saint Paula (or An Abbess). Painting of Juan de Valdés Leal (1622–1690) in Musée de Tessé [fr], Le Mans, France.
Patroness of the Order of Saint Jerome
BornAD 347
Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
Died26 January 404
Bethlehem, Palaestina Prima, Eastern Roman Empire
Venerated in
Feast
AttributesDepicted 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
InfluencesSaint Jerome, Saint Marcella
InfluencedSaint 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.

  1. ^ John J. Delaney, Dictionary of Saints ISBN 0-385-13594-7, p. 623
  2. ^ a b "St. Paula of Rome | Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese".
  3. ^ "General Convention Virtual Binder". www.vbinder.net. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  4. ^ Saint of the Day, January 26: Paula of Rome Archived 2011-01-23 at the Wayback Machine SaintPatrickDC.org. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  5. ^  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Paula". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  6. ^ "Helena, Egeria, Paula, Birgitta and Margery: The Bible and Women Pilgrims". www.umilta.net.
  7. ^ T. S. M. Mommaerts & D. H. Kelley, The Anicii of Gaul and Rome, in Fifth-century Gaul: a Crisis of Identity?, ed. by John Drinkwater and Hugh Elton, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge & New York, 1992) Pages 120-121.
  8. ^ "Paula of Rome vs. Marcella of Rome | Lent Madness". 26 March 2019.