Antipolo Auxiliary Bishop Nolly C. Buco will preside over a concelebrated fiesta mass at 9 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 30, at the St. Jerome Parish Church (Morong Church) in Morong, Rizal, in solemn commemoration of the Feast of Saint Jerome (San Geronimo), the greatest translator of the Holy Bible and the patron saint of theological learning, translators, and librarians.
The blessing of the new image of San Geronimo will precede the mass at 8:30 a.m. A motorcade will be held at 11 a.m. A fiesta mass will also be offered at 6 p.m.
Novena masses were held at the Morong Church from Sept. 21 to 29 while the blessing of the images of San Geronimo was done last Sept.1.
Holy masses in his honor will also be offered in Duenas, Iloilo, Tapaz, Capiz; and in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija.
In ancient Latin Christianity, St. Jerome was considered as the second most voluminous writer, next to St. Augustine.
Considered as the most learned of the Fathers of the Western Church, he was a brilliant scholar, bishop, and confessor. A protégé of Pope Damasus I, St. Jerome is recognized as a saint and Doctor of the Church by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Communion.
The “Vulgata,” a translation of the Holy Scriptures from Greek and Hebrew into Latin, which took him 40 years to finish, is so far the only official translation of the Holy Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church.
Every year, particularly on his feast day, devotees visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, Italy where his sacred relics are kept.