A Woman of Influence, Intellect and Concern for the Poor.
Paula was born in 347 in Rome to an illustrious noble family with ties to the gens Cornelia and traces to the origins of the ancient Patrician family. She married a Senator, Toxotius, and had five children. Her husband died when she was 32 and she approached a group of widows led by Saint Marcella. With their influence and teachings, she renounced the world, lived in the greatest austerity and devoted herself to helping the poor. She took a vow of celibacy and self-denial in the search for God away from the world. She and the group were the first to assert this type of independence in Roman history, defying cultural and legal expectations.
The death of her daughter Blesilla left her heartbroken, and she left Rome with her daughter Eustochium for the Holy Land settling in Bethlehem under the spiritual direction of St. Jerome. Paula used her wealth to establish 3 monasteries, a hospice, and a convent which she governed.
Her commitment to the poor was so extreme that she ultimately impoverished herself and her families’ riches so as to care for the poor. She then used her aristocratic influence to beg for resources to care for those sick, impoverished and in need.
She learned Hebrew allowing her to glean deeper meanings that were missing with poor Latin translations of the scriptures. She was natural at language and encouraged Jerome along with the Pope to begin a new translation. She proof-read Jerome’s work and her suggested edits accepted and incorporated into the Latin Vulgate Bible. Her and Eustochium also corrected the poor translation of the Psalms for the Latin Vulgate leaving their lasting imprint on the Latin worship in the Roman Catholic church to this day. She can be considered the mother of the best western translation of the bible that lasted for 1,000 years.
She understood her death was near when she heard Jesus speaking to her in the words of the Song of Songs. She died in 406 at the age of 59 and was buried in Bethlehem, in the Church of the Nativity.
She is the patron saint of widows.
Her feast day is January 26.
For God’s Glory.
