Today we commemorate Jerome, Translator of Holy Scripture. Beginning his studies in Rome, Jerome would choose a monastic life and spend five years in the Syrian desert, there learning Hebrew. After settling in Bethlehem, Jerome set about translating Scripture into Latin, a task that would produce the Vulgate — the authoritative translation used by the Western Church for over a thousand years. Originally buried in Bethlehem, Jerome’s remains were moved and now reside in Rome.