Paula of Rome
Paula | |
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Saint Paula (or An Abbess). Painting of Juan de Valdés Leal (1622–1690) in Musée de Tessé, Le Mans, France. | |
| Patroness of the Order of Saint Jerome | |
| Born | AD 347 Rome, Italia, Roman Empire |
| Died | 26 January 404 Bethlehem, Palaestina Prima, Eastern Roman Empire |
| Venerated in | |
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| Attributes | Depicted 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. |
| Patronage |
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| Influences | Saint Jerome, Saint Marcella |
| Influenced | Saint Jerome, Saint Blaesilla, Saint Eustochium |
Tradition or genre | Desert Mothers |
Paula of Rome (AD 347–404) was an ancient Roman Christian saint and early Desert Mother. A member of one of the richest senatorial families which claimed descent from Agamemnon, Paula was the daughter of Blesilla and Rogatus, from the great clan of the Furii Camilli. At the age of 16, 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. She was a disciple of Jerome and was one of the first abbesses of a convent of nuns.