St. Jerome

Patron Saint of Scholars and Librarians

Acrylic on window pane

My parents just went on a Holy Land trip with my grandparents. Amidst literally thousands of photos of Israel, my dad intricately explained their journey. One of his favorite spots was a visit to the Jerusalem/Bethlehem area. Apparently their tour guide took them to a dwelling and cave, explaining that it belonged to a famous scholar. My dad and grandfather figured out it was the cave of St. Jerome. Where he wrote and translated the Bible from Greek to Latin, known as the Vulgate. This became the principal Latin version of the Bible, prepared mainly by St. Jerome in the late 4th century, and (as revised in 1592) adopted as the official text for the Roman Catholic Church.

So I made them both an icon of St. Jerome, including a scroll translating John 1.14 from Greek to Latin (And the word became flesh and dwelt among them). Nerd alert. I was pretty stoked.

St. Jerome is known for a story in which he helped a lion get a splinter out of its paw. He is often depicted with a lion and is known for roaming the wilderness (all the best saints do). He also had a serious obsession with death, so obviously, a lion with a bleeding paw and a skull was the best way to visualize this (and one of my favorite parts).