By RAY CAVANAUGH
St. Jerome Emiliani transformed from a spiritually wayward young man into a priest known for inexhaustible charity — even though such charity was a hazardous occupation in a sixteenth-century Italy often stricken by plague. His transformation would ultimately lead to sainthood and a universal patronage. February 8 is his feast day.
Born in Venice in 1486, Jerome was one of four sons born to a family that had wealth and political prominence. Because of his background, he had superior educational opportunities. But even though he was intelligent, he lacked the temperament of a scholar. Instead, he was a highly sociable and energetic young man. One relative (who became a nun) described Jerome as “a youth who had a good time.”
Thirsting for adventure, Jerome, at the age of 15, became a soldier and fought on behalf of the city-state of Venice. During this time, he was “careless and irreligious,” according to the website franciscanmedia.org. About ten years into his career, he was taken prisoner during battle and sent to a dungeon. Somehow, he managed to escape in an event that he would attribute to divine intervention.
Eventually heading home to Venice, Jerome had to contend with the reality that several of his adult family members had died, thereby orphaning several of his nieces and nephews. As he had no children of his own, he began to take care of them and ensured that they received a proper education.
In addition to providing this familial assistance, Jerome began to lead a more spiritually disciplined life and regularly performed works of charity. His newfound calling to help the most vulnerable would find a continuous outlet, due to a series of infectious outbreaks and famines that beset his homeland.
In 1528, famine was so severe that many people were reduced to eating stale hay and straw from their thatched roofs. Masses from the bereft countryside began to flock to the cities in the hope of finding some food. Jerome opened up his own house to some of these desperate persons.
For the many destitute he could not fit into his home, he began either giving away or selling his possessions in order to raise money for them. Indeed, he had become so charitable that relatives were fearing for his mental well-being. But his calmly resolute demeanor suggested spiritual commitment as opposed to psychological distress.
Adding to the suffering of famine, an epidemic of plague erupted. The streets became strewn with dead bodies.
As though these infected corpses “were something very precious, like gold, [Jerome], unseen and unknown, carried them on his shoulders to cemeteries and sacred places,” according to a PDF biography obtained from the website of the Somascan Fathers (somascans.org).
As noble as his sentiments were, Jerome was taking dire risks by engaging in such behavior. He contracted the plague. Soon becoming bedridden, he resigned himself to mortality and even received Last Rites. However, he recovered — and then proceeded to resume his charitable works with a renewed vigor.
These new endeavors included the establishment of a hospital for the penniless and a shelter aimed at leading young women away from lives of prostitution. And, in what became his foremost calling, he began establishing orphanages at various locations in northern Italy.
More than just places of refuge, Jerome’s orphanages provided training programs in such skills as bookbinding, shepherding, and wool-working. He also made sure that catechism was taught properly. The orphans he helped may never have found parents, but thanks to him they had a tireless champion.
Jerome’s gregarious personality was made for networking, and he employed his natural talent to the benefit of the most unfortunate around him. Though much of the region was largely decimated by a succession of war, famine, and plague, there still were enough people of sufficient wealth and generosity to contribute to Jerome’s charitable endeavors. Aside from soliciting financial help, he also proved adept at recruiting others for administrative tasks.
The Catholic Encyclopedia reports that in 1532 Jerome founded a religious society in the village of Somascha, located between the cities of Bergamo and Milan. Upon receiving papal approval, the Somascan Order would begin to spread across Italy.
Somehow, Jerome found time for hours-long periods of prayer. However, he did not find time for fine dining, as he instead subsisted largely on a diet of stale bread. And his clothes were the same as those worn by the destitute persons to whom he so eagerly attended.
When he returned to visit his native Venice, friends noted that, despite looking like a beggar, he seemed to have attained a profound sense of inner peace.
As the year 1536 drew to a close, northern Italy was once again stricken with plague. Jerome, by now in his 50s, rushed into its epicenter. Once again, he came down with the disease. But this time he did not recover. He died in the nighttime between February 7 and 8, 1537.
Beatified in 1747, Jerome was canonized 20 years later. In 1928, Pope Pius XI designated him as the universal patron saint of orphans. For almost five centuries now, the Somascan Fathers have honored Jerome’s legacy by attending to the needs of orphans and abandoned youths. The Somascans currently operate at locations on six separate continents.
There is no shortage of orphans: In the U.S. alone, some 400,000 children are in the foster-care system. About 100,000 of them are awaiting adoption, according to the website of the orphan advocacy organization Show Hope (showhope.org).
Some sources claim that there are more than 150 million orphans worldwide. However, this statistic counts children who lost “only” one parent. According to the website of The Hope Effect (hopeeffect.com), the number of children worldwide who have lost both parents is about 26 million — still a tragically large statistic.
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