Saint Jerome, charcoal, 52 X 40 cm, Zagreb, 2018

Saint Jerome is a great saint and mystic from the late 4th and early 5th centuries, the patron saint of Dalmatia and the translator of the Bible into Latin. That is the name of my parish in Zagreb, and it is celebrated on September 30th. He is revered as the patron saint of archaeologists, archivists, biblical scholars, librarians and libraries, translators, students and schoolchildren, and he is also the patron saint of the famous Roman institute of Saint Jerome, as well as various societies, churches, chapels and places.

Despite his ascetic and pious life, despite his somewhat harsh nature and combative polemics of which he was aware, he allegedly used to say “Parce mihi, Domine, quia Dalmata sum! (Forgive me, Lord, for I am a Dalmatian! )”, justifying such a fierce temper with his native mentality.

There is a legend associated with Saint Jerome that his pet and friend was a lion, and that he removed a thorn from its leg, which is why he often appears in paintings with a lion.

Saint Jerome died on September 30, 420 in Bethlehem.

Sveti Jeronim, ugljen, 52 X 40 cm, Zagreb, 2018. godina

Sveti Jeronim je veliki svetac i mistik s kraja 4. i početka 5. stoljeća, zaštitnik Dalmacije i prevoditelja Biblije na latinski jezik. To je naziv moje župe u Zagrebu, a slavi se 30. rujna. Štuje se kao zaštitnik arheologa, arhivista, bibličara, knjižničara i knjižnica, prevoditelja, studenata i školske djece, a zaštitnik je i poznatog rimskog zavoda Sveti Jeronim, kao i raznih društava, crkava, kapela i mjesta.

Iako asketskom i pobožnom životu, iako pomalo opore naravi i borbene polemičnosti koje je bio svjestan, navodno je znao reći “Parce mihi, Domine, quia Dalmata sum ! (Oprosti mi, Gospodine, jer sam Dalmatinac! )”, opravdavajući takvu žestoku ćud svojim zavičajnim mentalitetom.

Uz svetog se Jeronima vezuje legenda prema kojoj mu je ljubimac i prijatelj bio lav, a kojemu je izvadio trn iz noge zbog čega se često pojavljuje na slikama upravo s lavom.

Sv. Jeronim umro je 30. rujna 420. godine u Betlehemu.