Jerome was the foremost biblical scholar of early Latin Christianity. His Latin translation of the Bible from early Hebrew and Greek texts, known as the Vulgate version, along with his commentaries and homilies on the biblical books, have made him a major intellectual force in the Western church.

Jerome was born in Stridon, in the Roman province of Dalmatia, around 347, and was converted and baptized during his daysas a student in Rome. On a vis…