St. Paula

Paula was born in Rome of a noble family on May 5, 347. She married Toxotius, and the couple had five children - Toxotius, Blesilla, Paulina, Eustochium, and Rufina. They were regarded as an ideal married couple, and on his death in 379, she renounced the world, lived in the greatest austerity, and devoted herself to helping the poor. She met St. Jerome in 382 through St. Epiphanius and Paulinus of Antioch, and was closely associated with Jerome in his work while he was in Rome. In 385 she left Rome with Eustochium, traveled to the Holy Land with Jerome, and settled in Bethlehem under his spiritual direction. She and Eustochium built a hospice, a monastery, and a convent, which Paula governed. She became Jerome's closest confidante and assistant, and died at Bethlehem on January 26. She is the patroness of widows. Her feast day is January 26.