St. Jerome

Eusebius Hieronymus, also known as Jerome, was born to a wealthy family in Roman Dalmatia. His family's affluence paid for an excellent education in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. In 382 CE he became secretary to Pope Damasus, who urged Jerome to make a revised translation of the Bible. Jerome translated the Old and New Testaments directly from the Hebrew and Greek texts, producing the "Vulgate," named for the "vulgar" (everyday) Latin of Jerome's era. The Vulgate became the standard text for the Catholic Church. Before dying in 420 CE Jerome participated in major theological debates, relying on his intellectual gifts to argue against the Arian heresy as well as to defend the cult of the saints, clerical celibacy, and the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity.

Sources: McBrien, Richard P. ed. The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1995. Pp 689-690.